Skip to main content

Full text of "The Improvement Era"

See other formats 


The  Swiss  Temple  at  Bern,  Switzerland. 


SEPTEMBER  1955 


by  Dr.  Franklin  S.  Harris,  Jr. 

Feeding  plants  part  of  their  food 
through  their  leaves  to  supplement 
the  roots  or  make  up  soil  deficiencies 
shows  much  promise  for  many  special 
conditions.  Sprayed  on  the  leaves,  con- 
veniently with  fungicides  or  insecticides, 
the  nutrient  may  make  up  for  de- 
ficiencies of  iron,  manganese,  potassium, 
phosphorus,  and  nitrogen.  No  single 
liquid  diet  fits  all  problems. 

The  average  life  span  of  animals  from 
records  kept  in  a  zoo  have  been 
given  by  Dr.  Chalmers  Mitchell  as: 
bears  33  years,  lions  and  tigers  17, 
hyenas  and  jackals  14,  badgers  12, 
foxes  10,  and  porcupines  20  years.  Bird 
records  show  that  the  Egyptian  vulture 
lives  118  years,  golden  eagles  104,  par- 
rots 102,  swans  70,  ravens  69,  herring 
gulls  44,  cranes  43,  ostriches  30,  domestic 
fowl  30,  ducks  26,  goldfinches  and 
pheasants  21,  and  canaries  20  years. 

Using  the  estimates  of  Dr.  S.  Smith 
Stevens  of  the  total  number  of  dis- 
tinguishable tones  of  all  intensities  and 
frequencies  as  330,000,  and  dividing  this 
by  a  quarter  of  a  second  necessary  to 
distinguish,  a  figure  of  1,320,000  dis- 
tinguishable tone  choices  can  be  made 
by  the  ear  in  a  second. 

IV/f  an  and  many  other  animals  have 
-*-"  night  and  day  vision.  Chickens 
have  only  day  vision,  and  when  light 
fails,  they  go  to  sleep,  as  do  also  hawks 
and  turtles.  Moles,  owls,  and  mice  are 
active  at  night  since  they  have  only 
night  vision.  In  clear  air  the  human 
eye  can  see  a  candle  at  14  miles  or  a 
lighted  match  at  10;  this  means  that 
only  about  six  or  seven  light  quanta 
reach  the  eye,  as  pointed  out  by  Pro- 
fessor Selig  Hecht. 


A 


n  averaged-sized  potato  contains  be- 
tween five  and  six  billion  cells. 


A  lthough  apparently  the  first  real 
-t*~  proof  that  the  sum  of  the  squares  of 
the  sides  of  a  right  triangle  is  equal 
to  the  square  of  the  hypotenuse  was 
given  by  Pythagoras,  the  Babylonians 
had  used  "Pythagorean  numbers"  by 
1600  B.C.,  and  the  Chinese  used  the 
theorem  in  1000  B.C.  More  than  a 
hundred  different  proofs  have  been 
given  for  it. 
SEPTEMBER  1955 


PURITY  BISCUIT  CO.       SALT  LAKE     •     PHOENIX      •     POCATELLO 


609 


#v^5 


V»* 


Sisalkraft 


COVERING   LAWN 
FURNITURE 


I- 


DROP   CLOTH 


WRAP  FOR 
STORAGE 


MOWER   AND 
TOOL  COVER 


LAWN      PROTECTION 


WINDBREAK   (ATTICS, 

SUMMER   COTTAGES, 

GARAGES   ETC.) 


You'll  find  many,  many  more  uses  for 
tough,  waterproof  paper  .  .  .  the  perfect 
vapor  barrier.  It's  an  impermeable  pro- 
duct that  can  be  applied  quickly,  easily 
and  economically.  No  material  offers 
more  protection  at  lower  cost  than 
SISALKRAFT.  Available  in  "take-home" 
rolls  —  36"  wide  containing  TOO  sq.  ft. 
Also  sold  in  large  construction-size  rolls 
from  36"  to   l3'/i'  wide. 

SEE  YOUR  LOCAL 
LUMBER  DEALER 


m 

Distributed  by 

MORRISON-MERRILL 
&  CO. 

Building  Material  Distributors 


610 


The  "Meeting  at  the  Summit" 
—Geneva,  July  1955 

by  Dr.  G.  Homer  Durham 

VICE    PRESIDENT,    UNIVERSITY  OF  UTAH 


IN  the  last  Era  comment  was  made 
that  "there  is  basis  for  expecting  some 
relaxation  in  world  tension  in  the  next 
few  years";  that  "granted  certain  con- 
ditions, a  slow  realignment  of  Russia 
towards  the  West  is  not  inconceivable"; 
and  that  "China  may  well  hold  the 
keys  to  much  of  the  world's  future." 
Since  those  lines  were  written,  the  "meet- 
ing at  the  summit"  occurred  in  Geneva, 
Switzerland,  July  19-23,  1955.  The 
significance  of  the  foregoing  points  has 
been  confirmed.  Departing  from  the 
conference  with  the  Soviet,  British,  and 
French  leaders,  President  Dwight  D. 
Eisenhower  declared  (Geneva,  July  23)  : 
"I  came  to  Geneva  be- 
cause I  believe  mankind 
longs  for  freedom  from 
war.  I  came  here  because 
of  my  lasting  faith  in  the 
decent  instincts  and  good 
sense  of  people  who 
populate  this  world  of 
ours.  I  shall  return  home 
tonight  with  these  con- 
victions unshaken  and 
with  a  prayer  that  the  hope  of  mankind 
will  one  day  be  realized." 

Most  of  the  United  States  shared  that 
prayer.  Radio  commentators  during 
the  week  asked  listeners  to  join  with 
them,  sometimes  silently,  sometimes 
audibly.  On  Friday,  July  22,  in  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.,  the  cabinet  met  in  the 
President's  absence  under  Vice  President 
Nixon.     As   reported  by  United  Press: 

"At  Nixon's  request,  Agriculture  Sec- 
retary Ezra  Taft  Benson  opened  the 
meeting  with  a  prayer  for  success  of  the 
talks  at  Geneva.  Nixon  suggested  the 
spoken  prayer  instead  of  the  cabinet's 
customary  opening  of  silent  prayer." 

Such  audible  expression  of  felt  "public 
opinion"  has  great  political  importance. 
Why? 

In  the  search  for  peace  and  relaxation 
of  world  tension,  public  opinion  must 
continue  to  play  a  fundamental  role. 
The  concurrence  of  the  world-wide  fear 
aroused  by  nuclear  weapons,  recent 
change  of  regimes  (especially  in  Russia 
since  the  death  of  Stalin),  and  the  gen- 
eral break-up  of  the  two-power  world, 
helped  make  Geneva  possible.  New 
machinery  is  now  set  in  motion.  For- 
eign ministers  of  the  Big  Four  will 
resume  meetings  in  October  1955.  They 
will  meet  to  study: 

1.  German  reunification. 

2.  European  security. 


3.  Disarmament. 

4.  Improving  contacts,  East-West. 

Immediately  on  President  Eisen- 
hower's return,  the  chairman  of  the 
foreign  relations  committee  of  the  US 
Senate,  Walter  F.  George  (Dem.,  Geor- 
gia), called  (July  24,  1955)  for  a  "face 
to  face"  meeting  between  top  US  diplo- 
mats and  the  Chinese  communists  with- 
in "six  months."  There  will  be  many 
other  developments.  Public  opinion 
must,  in  the  United  States,  be  extremely 
aware  and  cautious  on  the  following 
points: 

1.  China  was  not  present  at  Geneva 
in  July    1955.     This   is  a  fundamental 
fact,    of    which    Senator 
George's  statement  takes 
cognizance. 
t  2.  The   Russians   have 

£#  ^      three  major  concerns  im- 

mediately: 

a.  F  e  a  r  of  rearmed 
German  power  on  their 
European  flank. 

b.  Internal  economic 
problems. 

c.  Russia's  position  in  Asia. 

3.  The  main  show,  from  now  on,  is 
therefore  to  watch  the  Russian  maneu- 
vers to  dissolve  NATO,  unify  Germany 
as  a  Soviet  economic,  if  not  military, 
ally,  while  attempting  to  build  greater 
strength  and  influence  in  Asia. 

With  a  revived  Germany  as  the  po- 
tential arbiter  of  western  Europe,  all 
this  means  that  we  are  back  to  vigorous 
diplomacy  as  a  principal  factor  in  re- 
ducing international  friction.  The 
summit  conference  helped  crystallize  this 
new  atmosphere.  What  else  does  it 
mean? 

It  also  means  that  the  United  States 
has  regained  the  position  of  strength  and 
leadership  it  enjoyed  in  1945,  but  failed 
to  realize.  The  rearmament  program 
(commenced  in  1947),  NATO  achieved 
in  1949,  SEATO  in  1954,  has  re-built 
American  power  to  the  point  where  the 
unique  and  peculiar  attributes  of  the 
Eisenhower  personality,  aided  by  Sen- 
ator George's  influence  in  the  Senate, 
could  make  the  "swing."  The  fact  that 
Senators  Knowland,  Millikan,  Bridges, 
and  of  course  McCarthy,  have  declined 
excessive  favorable  comment  on  the 
President's  efforts  up  to  this  point,  re- 
veals a  reservoir  of  political  skepticism 
and  suspicion.  This  will  tend  to  keep 
current  opinion  from  millennial  day- 
(Concluded  on  page  614) 
THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


teach  His  word... 

. . .  yea,  in  wisdom,  all  that  He  seeth 


fit  that  they  should  have 


(Alma  29:8) 


PEA*1  °L 
AT  ?$& 


i.  LET  YOUR  LIGHT  SHINE 

By  A.   L.  Cook 

This  impelling  volume,  just  off  the 
press,  will  be  tremendously  helpful 
in  guiding  all  who  read  it — especial- 
ly the  youth — into  path  of  righteous- 
ness. It  is  a  study  of  the  Gospel 
with  a  new  and  direct  approach  that 
fights  human  delinquency  and  urges 
a  Christ-like  life.  Interesting,  easy 
to  read,  inspirational  counsel  that 
will  help  build  and  strengthen  testi- 
monies. $2.50 


on 


Jujhl^lUHl 


0  0-K 


■iriiill 


2.  STORY  OF  THE  PEARL  OF  GREAT  PRICE 

By  James  R.  Clark 

The  rare  treasures  contained  in  the  records  of  Abraham  and  Joseph 
are  told  in  an  interesting,  easy  to  understand  style.  However,  this  great 
works  is  more  than  just  the  Pearl  of  Great  Price  in  story  form  .  .  . 
it  contains  the  results  of  20  years  of  research  into  the  restoration  and 
translation   of   these  ancient   records.  $3.00 

3.  IF  I  WERE  IN  MY  TEENS 

A  brilliantly  written  series  of  articles  that  stimulates  greater  effort 
for  a  more  abundant  life.  Each  article  is  authored  by  a  prominent 
leader  of  youth  and  makes  available  in  capsule  form  the  truths  learned 
over    a    lifetime    of    rich    spiritual    experiences.  $2.00 


4.   NOT  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

By  Bryant  S.  Hinckley 


A  wonderful  addition  to  any  library.  Contains  a  vast  reservoir  of 
inspirational  thoughts.  Ideal  for  random  reading  and  as  a  background 
source  for  teachers  and  speakers.    Stimulating  as  a  tonic.  $1.50 


Order  by  Mail  or  Through   Bookcraft   Dealers 


BOOKCRAFT 

1186  South   Main,  Salt   Lake  City,   Utah 

Please  send   the  following    circled   books: 


Sept.  1955 


12  3  4 

for  which  I  enclose  check   (      ) 
or  money  order  (      ) 


□  Please  send  a  complete 
list  of  LDS  books  available 
through   Bookcraft  dealers. 


NAME 


siiiiiiiiiifiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilimiiliiiiiiiJiiiiiiliiliillili iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiimiiiiMiiiiiHiiiiiiij: 

GENEALOGY    SUPPLIES   OF    ALL    KINDS 

Write    for    complete    price    list. 

niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiHiiiiiiiiHimiiuiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiR 


Bookcraft 

1 1 86  South  Main     Salt  Lake  City  Utah 


ADDRESS   

CITY   STATE. 


.J 


,,- 


SEPTEMBER  1955 


611 


"The  Voice  of  the  Church" 


n->     VOLUME  58     n~>     NUMBER  9 


Editors:  DAVID  O.  McKAY     -     RICHARD  L.  EVANS 

Managing  Editor:  DOYLE  L.  GREEN 

Associate  Managing  Editor:   MARBA  C.  JOSEPHSON 

Production  Editor:  ELIZABETH  J.  MOFFITT 

Research  Editor:  ALBERT  L.  ZOBELL,  JR. 

Manuscript  Editor:   ALLIE  HOWE 

Contributing  Editors:  ARCHIBALD  F.  BENNETT     -     G.  HOMER  DURHAM 

FRANKLIN    S.    HARRIS,    JR.     -     MILTON    R.    HUNTER     -     HUGH    NIBLEY 

LEE  A.  PALMER     -     CLAUDE  B.  PETERSEN     -     SIDNEY  B.   SPERRY 

General  Manager:  ELBERT  R.  CURTIS     -     Associate  Manager:  BERTHA  S.  REEDER 

Business  Manager:  JOHN  D.  GILES     -     Advertising  Director:  VERL  F.  SCOTT 

Subscription  Director:  A.   GLEN   SNARR 


The  Editor's  Page 

Concerning  Faith  President  David  O.  McKay  621 

Church  Features 

Your  Question:  Why  Is  Oil  Used  in  Administering  to  the  Sick? 

.._ Joseph  Fielding  Smith  622 

A  Temple  Is  Risen  to  Our  Lord Marba  C.  Josephson  624 

Through  the  Eyes  of  Youth — "Who  Shall  Stand  in  His  Holy 

Place?" Frances  Brooks  627 

Qualifications  for  Leaders  John  Longden  628 

Genealogy — Solomon  Mack  and  His  Family — Part  1  _ 

..Archibald  F.  Bennett  630 

The  Way  of  the  Church — Two  Views  of  Church  History — III  .... 

HughNibley  650 

The  Church  Moves  On  616      Melchizedek  Priesthood  666 

Genealogy 630       Presiding  Bishopric's  Page  668 


Special  Features 


Presumptuous  Sins Arthur  M.  Richardson  623 

Science  Education  in  Utah  and  the  Church Wayne  B.  Hales  634 

Archaeology  and  the  Book  of  Mormon — Part  V — 

White  Indians,  cont Milton  R.  Hunter  638 

We're  Going  to  a  Hukilau  Jack  Uale  640 

Spiritualized  Scouting Elbert  R.  Curtis  642 

Facts  About  the  Word  of  Wisdom Thomas  Ray  Broadbent  644 

50  Years  of  Progress  in  Multiple-use  Forestry  ..Arnold  R.  Standing  645 

Sorry  Soldier,  No  Letter  Today! Paul  D.  McBride  649 

The  Spoken  Word  from  Temple  Square  

Richard  L.  Evans  656,  660,  664 

July   1955,  G. 

610 

688 


Exploring  the  Universe,  Franklin  S. 

Harris,  Jr 609 

These  Times,  The  "Meeting  at  the 


Summit" — Geneva, 

Homer  Durham  ... 

Your  Page  and  Ours  . 


Today's  Family 

Lena  Glaus— Her  Art  and  Profes- 
sion, Allie  Howe  676 

Your  Old  Formal   Goes   Lamp 


Shade,  Evelyn  Witter 679 

That  Enthusiastic  Beginning, 

Florence  J.  Johnson  680 


Stories,  Poetry 

Steffie's  Beauty  Secret  Loraine  Luskin  633 

The  Tiny  Voice Arlene  Hale  636 

Inner  Sight,  Janet  Moore 653 


Frontispiece,   Wild   Cactus    Acres, 

Eva  Willes  Wangsgaard  619 

Poetry  Page  620 

A  Rock  in  a  Storm,  S.  Roy  Chip- 
man  648 


Desert   Symphony,    Leona    Bammes 

Gardner 654 

Our  Garden,  Zelda  David  Howard  ..658 
Summer  Stream,  Pauline  Havard  ....671 


\Jf facial  \Jraan   of 

THE  PRIESTHOOD  QUORUMS, 
MUTUAL  IMPROVEMENT  ASSO- 
CIATIONS, DEPARTMENT  OF 
EDUCATION,  MUSIC  COMMITTEE, 
WARD  TEACHERS,  AND  OTHER 
AGENCIES  OF 

^Jke    L^kurcn    of 
of  oLatter-dau   faints 


^Jke    C-c 


over 


The  Swiss  Temple,  eleventh  completed 
in  the  history  of  the  Church,  and  the 
ninth  to  be  presently  in  use  by  the  Church 
of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints  will  be 
dedicated  September  1 1  by  President  David 
O.  McKay.  Photographs  of  the  temple 
were  adapted  for  cover  use  by  Hal  Rumel. 


EDITORIAL    AND    BUSINESS    OFFICES 
50  North  Main  Street 

Y.M.M.I.A.    Offices,   50   North   Main    St. 

Y.W.M.I.A.   Offices,   40   North   Main   St. 

Salt    Lake    City    1,   Utah 

Copyright  1955  by  Mutual  Funds,  Inc.,  and 
published  by  the  Mutual  Improvement  Asso- 
ciations of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Lat- 
ter-day Saints.  All  rights  reserved.  Sub- 
scription price,  $2.50  a  year,  in  advance ; 
foreign  subscriptions,  $3.00  a  year,  in  advance; 
25c   single   copy. 

Entered  at  the  Post  Office,  Salt  Lake  City, 
Utah,  as  second-class  matter.  Acceptance  for 
mailing  at  special  rate  of  postage  provided 
for  in  section  1103.  Act  of  October  1917,  au- 
thorized  July   2,    1918. 

The  Improvement  Era  is  not  responsible  for 
unsolicited  manuscripts,  but  welcomes  con- 
tributions. All  manuscripts  must  be  accom- 
panied by  sufficient  postage  for  delivery  and 
return. 

Change    of    Address 

Thirty  days'  notice  required  for  change  of 
address.  When  ordering  a  change,  please  in- 
clude address  slip  from  a  recent  issue  of 
the  magazine.  Address  changes  cannot  be 
made  unless  the  old  address  as  well  as  the  new 
one   is   included. 


National   Advertising   Representatives 


EDWARD    S.    TOWNSEND    COMPANY 

110    Sutter    St. 

San   Francisco,   California 

EDWARD  S.  TOWNSEND  COMPANY 
672    Lafayette    Park    Place 
Los  Angeles  57,  California 

SADLER  AND  SANGSTON  ASSOCIATES 

342  Madison  Ave. 

New  York  17,  N.  Y. 

DAVIS   &    SONS 

30  N.  LaSalle  St. 

Chicago,  Illinois 


Member,  Audit  Bureau  of  Circulations 


612 


THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


10  A.M. 

You're  half  through  .  .  . 

because  Ful-Color  spreads 

easily,  smoothly,  perfectly! 


4 -HOUR  MIRACLE  with 
Fuller's  Latex  Paint... Ful-Color 


8  a.m. 

You  start  to  paint  your  living  room  with 
Fuller's  amazing  latex  paint— Ful-Color. 


11  A.M. 

Missed  a  few  spots?  Don't 
worry  about  it!  With  Ful-Color 
you  can  touch  up  missed  spots 
without  leaving  lap  marks 
or  brush  marks! 


12  M.  You're  finished! 
And  what  an  easy  clean-up! 
You  just  wash  out  brushes  and 
rollers  under  the  water  tap! 


Amazing  Ful-Color  dries  in  just  one  hour 
—  has  no  "painty"  odor— so  right  away  you 
occupy  your  colorful  new  room.  And  what- 
ever colors  you  prefer,  you'll  find  them 
among  the  hundreds  in  Fuller's  famous 
Jewel  Case.  See  them  at  your  Fuller  Paint 
Dealer— a  good  place  to  go. 


COLOR,  BY 


FUL-COLOR  IS  A  PRODUCT  OF  w.  p.  FULLER  &  CO., 
THE  WEST'S  LEADING  PAINT  MANUFACTURER 
AND  GLASS  DISTRIBUTOR. 


TO    INTRODUCE   YOU    TO   THE    MIRACLE    OF 
TRUE   HIGH  FIDELITY  RECORDINGS 

Masterpieces 


BACH 

Toccata  and  Fugue  in  D  Minor 

Alexander  Schreiner  at  the  Organ  of 
the  Tabernacle,  Salt  Lake  City 

CHOPIN 

Fantaisie-lmpromptu,  Opus  66 

Robert  Goldsand,  Pianist 

BEETHOVEN 

Piano  Sonata  No.  24  in  F  Sharp,  Opus  78 


COMPLETE  TO  THE  LAST  NOTE 

Yes !  All  works  complete  on  Two  EXTRA 
Long-Playing    High-Fidelity    Discs. 


Grant  Johannesen,  Pianist 


MUSSORGSKY 

Night  on  Bald  Mountain 

Netherlands  Philharmonic  Orch.,  Walter  Goehr,  Conducting 


Take 
all  10 
for  just 
one  dollar! 


VIVALDI 

Concerto  in  C  for  Two  Trumpets  and  Orchestra 

H.  Sevenstern  and  F.  Hausdoerjer,  Trumpeters, 
Netherlands  Philharmonic  Orch.  Otto  Ackermann,  Cond. 

MOZART 

Symphony  No.  26  in  E  Flat,  K.  184 

Netherlands  Philharmonic  Orch. ,  Otto  A  ckermann.Cond. 

BRAHMS 

The  Academic  Festival 

Utrecht  Symphony,  Paul  Happens,  Conducting 

BERLIOZ 

The  Roman  Carnival 

Netherlands  Philharmonic,  Waller  Goehr,  Cond. 

WAGNER 

Die  Meistersinger,  Prelude,  Act  1 

Zurich  Tonhalle  Orch.,  Ackermann,  Cond. 

DUKAS 

Sorcerer's  Apprentice 

Utrecht  Symphony,  Hupperts,  Cond. 


try  them  /XJSf 


INTERNATIONAILY  ACCLAIMED  I 

'The  recording  is  of  such  perfection  it  seems  to 

bring  the  artists  into  your  living  room" 

—Glorious  Sounds.  Amsterdam,  Holland 
"The  discs  can  be  recommended  without  reservation 

to  record  lovers"— The  Action,  Zurich,  Switzerland 
"Uncommonly  fine,  even  for  these  days  of  technical 

advancement"        -Los  Angeles  Examiner,  Call! 


Don't  pay  a  penny  until  AFTER 
you've  heard  them  on  approval 

NO  STRINGS  ATTACHED 

Without  any  obligation  to  buy  a 
record  —  now  or  later  —  you  can 
obtain  all  the  advantages  of  a  Trial 
Membership. 

Now  you  can  get  a  real  start  on  a  com- 
plete record  collection  without  risking 
a   penny.   Take    these    TEN    great    master- 
pieces — ■  audition  them  FREE  for  5  days  in 
Tyour  own  home.  And  if  you  decide  to  keep  them, 
pay  NOT  $1  each  but  $1  for  ALL  TEN! 

Why  We  Make  This  Amazing  Offer 

We   want  you   to   hear  the   exciting   perform- 
ances .  .  .  the  sensitive  interpretations  .  .  .  the 
amazing  high  fidelity  of  our  recordings !   Per- 
formed by  world-renowned  artists  and  orches- 
tras .  .  .  reproduced  with  a  tonal  fidelity  covering 
the   entire   range   of   human   hearing  — •   50   to 
15,000    cycles!    Custom    pressed    on    noise    free 
vinylite !  Even  if  you  do  not  have  a  high  fidelity 
player  you  can  appreciate  the  difference. 
With    your   10   Masterpieces   you   receive   a   valuable 
Trial  Membership  —  with  no  obligation  to  buy  a  record 
ever.   Future   selections   will   be   described    in   advance. 
You  may  try  any  of  these  free  of  charge,  and  you  don't 
have  to  keep  those  you  try.  Play  them  first,  and  read 
their  interesting  music   notes.   But  pay   only   for  those 
you  keep  at  the  Member's  low  price  of  just  $1.65  per 
33%  RPM  disc,  containing  about  40  minutes  of  music. 
A  saving  of  40%  off  the  usual  retail  price. 

Mail  Coupon  Now 
This  offer  may  soon  be  withdrawn.  Avoid  disappoint- 
ment.   Mail    coupon   —   without   money   and   get   ALL 
TEN  MASTERPIECES  for  ONLY  $1.00  ! 

The  Musical  Masterpiece  Society,  Dept.  119-9, 

43  West  6lst  Street,  New 

York  23,  N.  Y. 


MAIL  COUPON-NO  MONEY— NOW 

THE  MUSICAL  MASTERPIECE  SOCIETY,  Dept.u9-9, 
43  West  61st  Street,  New  York  23,  N.  Y. 

Rush  me  recordings  of  10  Masterpieces  for  FREE 
trial.  Enroll  me  as  a  Trial  Member.  After  5  days 
I  will  return  discs  or  send  only  $1.00  plus  few  cents 
shipping  as  payment  in  full.  Privileges:  No  purchase 
obligation  ever!  Advance  notice  of  future  releases. 
5  day  free  trial  on  any  disc.  I  may  reject  records 
before  or  after  receipt;  may  cancel  membership  at 
any  time.  For  future  l.p.  discs  I  keep,  I'll  Pay  only 
$1.65  each  plus  few  cents  shipping.  Saving  407o  off 
usual  retail  vrice. 

Limit:  Only  one  sample  package  per  customer. 


WSMm 


I  :-■ 


■■     ;  - 


Name. 


Address. 


City Zone. . .  .State. . . 

Canada:  105  Bond  Street,  Toronto  2,  Ont. 


614 


These  Times 

(Concluded  from  page  610) 
dreaming.  The  expenditure  of  forty 
billions  a  year  for  the  armed  services 
and  more  than  three  billion  for  foreign 
aid  in  1955-56,  will  help  maintain  the 
world  platform  for  American  influence. 
Release  of  US  Air  Force  plans  to  pro- 
duce a  supersonic  jet  interceptor  ("ca- 
pable of  dealing  with  Russia's  new 
advanced  heavy  bombers")  on  the  same 
day  that  Molotov,  Bulganin,  Eden, 
Eisenhower,  and  the  rest  were  lauding 
the  "results  of  the  Geneva  parley"  indi- 
cates this  aspect  of  the  facts  of  life. 
That  Eisenhower  is  aware  of  the  uses 
of  propaganda  (both  at  home  and 
abroad),  despite  deep  concern  for  im- 
provement of  east-west  relations,  was 
illustrated  by  a  certain  reluctance  one 
afternoon  to  pose  for  photographers  in 
a  handshake  with  Bulganin.  His  real 
concern,  on  the  other  hand,  was  evi- 
denced in  the  special  luncheon,  arranged 
privately,  with  Marshal  Zhukov.  This 
excellent  illustration  of  the  distinction 
between  the  real  and  the  apparent  is  a 
good  lesson,  as  was  the  President's  sin- 
cere offer  to  exchange  military  "blue- 
prints." 

Russia    is    certainly   wearing    a    new 
face,  actually  "faces,"  for  the  replace- 
ment  of    Stalin-like    personal   rule    for 
committee  rule  seems  quite  real.  Malen- 
kov,    remember,    survives    and    smiles. 
Molotov's    and    Khrushchev's    smiling 
faces    and   convivial    manners   may    be 
only  apparent.     But   at   least   one  sees 
their  pictures  at  gay  places  in  daylight, 
not  merely  on  the   reviewing   stand   or 
at  some  midnight  tryst  in  the  Kremlin 
as  was  true  of  Stalin.     To  change  the 
nature    of   the    Russian   state,   short    of 
war,  would  be  one  of  the  major  evolu- 
tions   of    history.      States,    throughout 
history,    have   rarely,    if   ever,    changed 
their  nature  short  of  violence,  bloodshed, 
war,  or  revolution.     The  Geneva  con- 
ference, coming  on  the  heels  of  the  pre- 
ceding "ice  breakers,"  may  well   mark 
the   end   of   the    cold   war.     The    Rus- 
sian    government     newspaper,     Izvestia 
("Light"),  in  a  front-page  editorial,  July 
24,  1955,  hailed  the  conference  as  "the 
beginning   of  a  new   stage  in   interna- 
tional relations."    President  Eisenhower 
stepped  off  the  Columbine  III  at  Wash- 
ington's    national     airport     the     same 
morning  and  said,  "There  is  evidence  of 
new   friendliness   in   the   world."     The 
British    Foreign   Secretary,    echoing   Sir 
Anthony  Eden  said  upon  his  return  to 
London,  "We  have  identified  the  prob- 
lems and  we  have  set  up  the  machinery 
to  deal  with  them."    Harold  Macmillan, 
in  uttering  these  words,  perhaps  made 
the  most  sense  for  the  long  run,  because 
problems  have  been  identified  in  Europe 
and  machinery  established  to  deal  with 
them,  with  Asia  and  China  perhaps  to 
follow. 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


A 


Families  see 

eye  to  eye 

with 

KSL-TV 


//■;.,„/* 


now  televising  "live 
all  day  long 


• 


The 

Robert  Q.  Lewis 

Show 

Monday  through 

Friday 

at  11:00  a.m. 


On  Your  Account 

Monday  through 

Friday 

at  1:30  p.m. 


The  Guiding  Light 

Monday  through 

Friday 

at  9:45  a.m. 


Art  Linkletter's 

House  Party 

Monday  through 

Friday 

at  11:30  a.m. 


in  the  Mountain  West 


SEPTEMBER  1955 


615 


The  Church  moves  on 

A  Day  To  Day  Chronology  Of  Church  Events 


June  1955 

-j  a  Several  weeks  ago  seventeen  coun- 
'  ties  in  north  Mississippi  had  been 
taken  from  the  Southern  States  Mission 
and  added  to  the  East  Central  States 
Mission.  Today  the  remainder  of  Missis- 
sippi was  tranferred  to  the  Texas- 
Louisiana  Mission.  The  name  of  the 
mission  was  then  changed  to  the  Gulf 
States  Mission,  which  now  includes 
Texas,  Louisiana,  and  parts  of  Missis- 
sippi. 

Elder  Ezra  Taft  Benson  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  the  Twelve  dedicated  the  chapel 
of  the  Alexandria  (Virginia)  Ward, 
Washington  Stake. 

OA    The  thirty-second  annual  Leader- 
ship   Week    at    Brigham    Young 
University  began  today. 

i\f\    The  roadshow  presentation  of  the 
^    MIA   Southern   California  confer- 
ence was  given  at  the  East  Los  Angeles 
Junior  College  auditorium. 

This  was  the  eightieth  annual  Old 
Folk's  Day  in  Salt  Lake  City. 

99    The    camping     institute    of    the 
***    Young  Women's  Mutual  was  held 
as  part  of  the  MIA  Southern  California 
conference. 

The  MIA  Southern  California  con- 
ference presented  San  Juan  Outpost,  in 
the  auditorium  of  the  East  Los  Angeles 
Junior  College. 

9  i  General  sessions  of  the  MIA 
^  *  Southern  California  conference  be- 
gan in  Los  Angeles. 

The  music  festival  of  the  MIA  South- 
ern California  conference  was  presented 
in  the  Hollywood  Bowl. 

9C  The  First  Presidency  announced 
^  the  appointment  of  President  Clif- 
ton G.  M.  Kerr  of  the  South  Bear  River 
(Utah)  Stake,  to  preside  over  the  British 
Mission,  succeeding  President  A.  Hamer 
Reiser.  President  Kerr  filled  a  mission 
in  the  British  Isles  from  1928  to  1930. 
He  has  served  in  the  various  auxiliaries 
of  the  Church  on  both  a  ward  and  stake 
level.  He  is  a  former  bishop  of  the 
Tremonton  Second  Ward,  and  a  former 
member  of  the  Bear  River  Stake  high 
council  and  presidency.  President  Kerr 
and  his  wife,  the  former  Irene  Pack, 
with  their  two  sons,  John  and  Nolan, 
will  go  to  England  sometime  in  the 
fall.  Their  son  Rolfe,  a  student  at  Utah 
State  Agricultural  College,  will  join 
them  about  the  first  of  the  year.    Their 

616 


eldest  son,  Duanne,  is  now  completing 
his  mission  in  the  Canadian  Mission. 

Departmental  sessions  of  the  MIA 
Southern  California  conference  were 
held  in  Los  Angeles. 

The  dance  festival  of  the  MIA  South- 
ern California  conference  was  presented 
in  the  stadium  of  the  East  Los  Angeles 
Junior  College. 


26 


The  second  annual  MIA  Southern 
California  conference  came  to  a 
close  with  general  sessions  including  one 
under  the  direction  of  the  speech  de- 
partment, at  which  President  Stephen 
L  Richards  was  the  guest  speaker. 

Elder  Percy  K.  Fetzer,  formerly  first 
counselor,  sustained  as  president  of  the 
Temple  View  (Salt  Lake  City)  Stake, 
succeeding  President  Adiel  F.  Stewart. 
Elder  John  R.  Burt,  formerly  second 
counselor,  sustained  as  first  counselor, 
and  Elder  Thomas  S.  Monson  sustained 
as  second  counselor. 

Elder  Phil  D.  Jensen,  formerly  second 
counselor,  sustained  as  president  of  the 
Alpine  (Utah)  Stake,  succeeding  Presi- 
dent Edward  W.  Burgess.  Elder  Delbert 
Chipman  was  also  released  as  first  coun- 
selor. President  Jensen's  counselors  are 
Elders  Stanley  D.  Roberts  and  Homer 
F.  Royle. 


July  1955 


2  It  was  announced  that  America's 
Witness  for  Christ,  the  sacred 
pageant  presented  at  the  Hill  Cumorah 
each  August,  would  have  twelve  scenes 
this  year. 

r   The  Genealogical   Society   of  the 
"    Church    opened    its    recently    re- 
modeled  fourth   floor   facilities,   which 
contain  one  hundred  microfilm  reading 
machines. 

9  The  First  Presidency  announced 
the  appointment  of  Elder  Douglas 
H.  Driggs  of  Phoenix,  Arizona,  to  preside 
over  the  Northwestern  States  Mission, 
succeeding  President  James  A.  McMur- 
rin.  President  Driggs  filled  a  mission 
in  the  Eastern  States  beginning  in  1928. 
He  has  long  been  interested  in  the  wel- 
fare of  boys  and  is  president  of  the 
Roosevelt  Council,  Boy  Scouts  of  Amer- 
ica. At  the  time  of  this  call  to  the  mis- 
sion field  he  is  the  senior  member  of 
the  Phoenix  Stake  high  council.  Ac- 
companying him  to  the  field  of  labor 
will  be  his  wife,  the  former  Effie  Killian, 
and  the  youngest  of  their  four  children, 
Anne. 


In  President  Stephen  L  Richards  of 
"  the  First  Presidency  dedicated  the 
chapel  of  the  Idaho  Falls  Second  and 
Sixteenth  wards,  Idaho  Falls  (Idaho) 
Stake. 

-i  9  The  First  Presidency  announced 
J- "  the  appointment  of  Elder  Henry 
D.  Taylor  to  succeed  President  Bryan  L. 
Bunker  of  the  California  Mission.  At 
the  time  of  this  appointment,  President 
Taylor  was  serving  as  president  of  the 
East  Sharon  (Utah)  Stake,  and  as  chair- 
man of  the  Mt.  Timpanogos  welfare 
region.  He  filled  a  mission  to  the  East- 
ern States  from  1924  to  1926.  He  is  a 
former  bishop  of  Pleasant  View  Ward 
and  a  former  president  of  Sharon  Stake. 
To  this  mission-field  assignment  with 
President  Taylor  will  go  his  wife,  the 
former  Alta  Hansen,  and  two  of  their 
four  children. 

-1  0  The  First  Presidency  announced 
■1 "  the  appointment  of  Elder  Frank 
D.  Parry  to  succeed  President  Lyman 
S.  Shreeve  of  the  Uruguay  Mission. 
President  Parry  was  formerly  a  member 
of  the  presidency  of  the  Seattle  (Wash- 
ington) Stake  where  he  served  for  ten 
years.  Prior  to  that,  he  served  as  bishop 
of  the  University  Ward,  Seattle  Stake. 
As  a  young  man  he  served  as  a  mission- 
ary in  the  Mexican  Mission.  His  wife, 
the  former  Louise  Bush,  and  their  three 
children  will  accompany  him  to  the 
mission  field. 

The  First  Presidency  announced  the 
appointment  of  Elder  Edgar  L.  Wagner 
of  Colonia  Dublan,  Chihuahua,  Mexico, 
to  succeed  President  Gordon  M.  Romney 
of  the  Central  American  Mission.  Presi- 
dent Wagner,  at  the  time  of  his  appoint- 
ment, was  serving  as  stake  Sunday 
School  superintendent  of  the  Juarez 
Stake.  He  is  a  former  bishop  of  the 
Dublan  Ward  there.  As  a  young  man 
he  served  a  mission  in  Mexico.  To  this 
mission  assignment  with  him  will  go 
his  wife,  the  former  Gladys  Kotter,  and 
one  son. 

9  a  A  children's  parade  in  Salt  Lake 
"  "  City  featured  the  opening  of  the 
annual  celebration  noting  the  coming 
of  the  Utah  pioneers.  This  evening  the 
first  performance  of  the  rodeo  was  held. 
Performances  were  scheduled  for  Thurs- 
day, Friday,  Saturday,  and  Monday 
evenings. 

9  9   The    appointment    of    Catherine 
"  "   Bowles  of  Nephi,  Utah,  to  the  gen- 
eral    board     of    the     Deseret     Sunday 
School  was  announced. 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


An  Announcement 


from  the 


LDS  Books  Club 


INTRODUCTORY  SELECTION 


£ 


jumlw 


'&§ 


<x>y<mm 


CHERISHED 
EXPERIENCES 

by 
DAVID  O.  McKAY 

$3.00 


David  0.  McKay 

Compiled  by  President  McKay's  secretary, 
Clare  Middlemiss,  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
creasing the  faith  and  building  the  testi- 
monies of  Latter-day  Saints  throughout 
the  world,  this  splendid  new  book  con- 
tains accounts  of  rich  spiritual  experiences 
enjoyed  by  the  President  during  his  long 
life  of  service  in  the  Church. 

Divided  into  four  sec- 
tions, Memorable  Testi- 
monies, Faith-Promoting 
Incidents,  Incidents  of 
Divine  Healing,  and  In- 
spirational Stories  for 
Youth,  this  book  will 
bless  every  home  it  en- 
ters, and  build  the  faith 
of  every  person  who 
reads  it. 

Clare  Middlemiss 
SEPTEMBER  1955 


Have  you  ever  wished  for  a  good  library  of  LDS  books? 

The  LDS  Books  Club  has  been  formed  to  make  it  easy  for  you  to  secure  the 
best  Church  books  regularly  and  conveniently  at  a  cost  of  about  20%  less  than  you 
would  otherwise  have  to  pay  for  them. 

This  is  how  the  plan  works:  Each  month  a  competent  committee  will  select  the 
top  new  LDS  book.  You  as  a  club  member  will  receive  a  review  of  this  book,  along 
with  a  post  card  giving  three  or  four  alternate  selections.  If  you  want  the  top  book, 
you  do  nothing.  A  copy  at  the  regular  publisher's  price  will  be  sent  you  in  the  mail, 
.and  you  will  be  billed  for  it.  If  you  prefer  one  of  the  alternates,  or  none  at  all  that 
month,-  you  return  the  card  so  indicating. 

When  you  have  purchased  four  books,  we  will  send  you  a  FREE  book  of  your 
own  choice  from  among  a  list  of  some  of  the  finest  LDS  books  published.  THIS 
WILL  BE  YOUR  DISCOUNT  ON  THE  BOOKS  YOU  HAVE  PURCHASED.  You 
need  only  take  four  books  a  year  unless  you  desire  more. 

Remember,  you  get  these  advantages: 

£  Savings   of   about   20%   on    all    books   through    a    FREE    bonus    book   with 
each   four  books   purchased. 

g  The    most    convenient   way    possible    to    build    your    library    of    good    LDS 
books. 

£  Assurance  that  the  top  LDS   books  will  be  selected   monthly. 

Act  today  to  build  your  library  and  make  available  to  yourself  and  your  family 
the  best  Church  books  by  filling  out  and  mailing  the  application  blank  below,  along 
with  your  check  or  money  order. 


ALTERNATE  SELECTIONS 


!  DOCTRINES  OF  SALVATION,  Vol.  1 
By  Joseph   Fielding  Smith   $3.00 

Sermons  and  writings  of  the  president  of  the 
Council  of  the  Twelve,  compiled  by  Bruce  M. 
McConkie.  Features  authoritative  doctrinal  ma- 
terial on  many  important  topics,  including  much 
that    is    new,    taken    from    personal    correspondence. 


3.  YOUR  FAITH  AND  YOU— 
By   Mark    E.    Petersen    


$3.00 

With  rare  insight  and  forthright  directness,  Elder 
Petersen  authoritatively  answers  vital  questions 
on  life  and  living  for  young  and  old  alike,  giving 
inspired  guidance  and  showing  that  happiness 
can    rome    only    through    living    the    good    life. 


2  OUR  LORD  OF  THE  GOSPELS 
By   J.    Reuben    Clark,    Jr 


$5.00 

As  a  result  of  many  years  of  research  and  un- 
tiring effort,  President  Clark  presents  a  harmony 
of  the  events  in  the  Life  of  Jesus  as  recorded  in 
the  four  Gospels.  An  important  and  colossal  under- 
taking  on   the   life    and   teachings  of   the   Savior. 


.$3.00 


4.  JESUS  THE   CHRIST— 

By  James   E.   Talmage   

An  LDS  classic  first  published  in  1915  by  ap- 
pointment of  the  presiding  authorities.  Comprises 
a  narrative  of  the  Lord's  life  in  the  flesh  and 
accounts  of  his  antemortal  existence  and  his 
dealings    with    the    world    from    its    beginning. 


If    you    bind    your    Eras,    or    for    other    reasons    do    not    want    to    mutilate    this    page,    send     information 
required   on   a   separate   sheet   of    paper. 


LDS    BOOKS   CLUB,    161    East    Utopia   Avenue,    Salt    Lake   City,    Utah. 
Gentlemen: 

Please  enroll  me  as  a  member  of  the  LDS  Books  Club,  and  send  me  the  introductory 
selection  "Cherished  Experiences,"  or  the  alternate  checked  below.  I  understand  that  I 
will    receive   a   free    bonus    book    with    each    four    selections    I    buy. 

Name     

Address      

City     and     State     '. 

Amount   of    Check    Enclosed    $ Please    send    C.O.D 

(Utah   residents    include   2%    sales   tax) 


□   Please  send   "Cherished    Experiences"   $3. 


If  alternate  desired,   please   indicate: 


□  1.  Doctrines  of  Salvation,  Vol.  1,  by  Joseph  □  3.   Your      Faith      and      You,      by     Mark      E. 

Fielding    Smith,    $3.  Petersen,   $3. 

□  2.  Our  Lord  of  the  Gospels,  by  J.    Reuben  □  4.  Jesus  the  Christ,   by  James  E.  Talmage. 

Clark,    Jr.,    $5.  $3. 


617 


-;  ■■-■.■■      .    ■.--■■  ■:      '■:■■     ■ 


CHASE  copper  water  tube 

goes  in  for  good! 

See  that  shiny  Chase  Copper  Water  Tube!  Smart  plumbers  choose  it  every  time. 
They  know  it's  lightweight,  easy  to  handle,  and  it  wakes  satisfied  customers  for 
years  to  come. 

Chase  Copper  "Water  Tube  is  corrosion-resistant  .  .  .  won't  clog  with  rust  and 
always  gives  a  full  flow  of  rust-free  water. 

Chase  Copper  Water  Tube  and  Chase  Solder- Joint  Fittings  are  a  combination 
that  just  can't  be  beat  for  hot  and  cold  water  lines,  radiant  panel  heating  and  for 
drainage  lines,  too.    Sold  by  Chase   plumbing   and  heating   wholesalers. 

When  you  buy  products  made  by  Chase  Brass  and  Copper  Company,  you  buy 
Utah  mined  copper. 


Utah  Copper 
Division 


*s 


3£ 


618 


Kennecott  Copper  Corporation 

A    Good    Neighbor    Helping    to    Build    a    Better    Utah 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


!::    ::: 


The  combination  of  Yucca  whipplei 
and  Prickly  Pear  (Opuntia)  in  full  dress 
shows  the  desert  off  to  its  best  advantage. 

— Photograph  by  Josef  Muench 


Wild  Cac+us  Acres 


by  Eva  Willes  WangsgaarJ 


left  the  flower  show's  bright  blooms  to  drive 
Across  the  town  below  the  canyon's  mouth. 
Among  the  rocks  was  beauty  more  alive 

Than  all  the  gardens'  hoard,  east,  north,  or  south. 

primrose  wed  begonia,  then  perhaps 
A  rival  for  this  beauty  might  be  born. 
Unusued  to  pampering-hands  the  cactus  traps 

The  whole  of  sunset's  hues  with  lobe  and  thorn. 


^^ 


SEPTEMBER  1955 


619 


ǤSfeS&/: 


DARK  CAMEO 
By  Alma  Robison  Higbee 

The  last  red  cow  came  down  the  lane, 
The  breeze  bore  wild  grape  musk, 
The  hills  put  off  the  robe  of  day 
And  donned  the  cloak  of  dusk. 

Dew  filled  the  lily's  honied  cup, 
Where  late  the  bright  bee  sipped; 
Upon  the  darkened  slate  of  sky 
Night  wrote   in   golden   script. 


ASPENS  IN  AUTUMN 

By  Elizabeth  A.   Hutchison 

n  the   sloping  height,  remote   and  cool, 
An  aspen  grove  is  a  gleaming  pool, 
Cupped  in  the  forest  of  somber  pine, 
And  etched  by  autumn  in  clean  design. 
The  frail  leaves  quivering  in  the  sun 
Might  very  well  be  of  the  sunlight  spun; 
But    waves    that    ripple    in    the    mountain 

breeze 
Are  shimmering  gold  of  the  aspen  trees. 
They  drench  the  air  and  splash  on  the  sand, 
Rimming  the  pines  in  a  luminous  strand, 
And  he  who  walks  on  the  shining  shore 
Seems  very   near  to  the   sky's   bright  door. 


INDIAN  SUMMER 
By  {Catherine  F.  Larsen 


H 


ere    she    still   lingers,   bare    feet    in   the 

strewn 
Gold  leaves,  caught  breathless  in  the  antique 

spell 
That  holds  bright  tree,  rust  carpet,  where 

too  soon 
Rude  northeast  winds  will  keen  the  season's 

knell. 
She  drapes  a  gray  chiffon-haze  mantle  brief 
On  tawny   shoulders,   languorously  smiles, 
Reluctant    to    draw    a    breath,    disturb    one 

leaf, 
Where  gold  and  scarlet  riot  down  calm  blue 

miles. 

Suspended    in   time,    robed    in    rich    amber, 

such 
As  well  she  may  not  wear  another  day, 
She    feels   the    imminence   of   Frost's   sharp 

touch 
Which  one  day  soon  will  startle  her  away, 
And  all  the  golden  languor  of  the  land 
Be  stripped  and  strewn  by  Winter's  ruthless 

hand. 


WHEAT  HARVEST 
By  Mildred  Goff 

Ablue-jeaned  king  upon  a  lofty  throne, 
The  high  seat  of  his  clanking  harvester, 
Across  the  golden  fields  he  rides  alone, 
His  ear  attuned  to  every  rasp  and  whir. 
Sometimes     he     whistles,     sometimes    sings 

aloud, 
And  watches  where  the  heavy  wheat  heads 

drop. 
Appraising  anxiously  each  puff  of  cloud 
That  threatens  rain  upon  the  precious  crop, 
He  thinks  of  those  whose  hunger  will  be  fed 
Upon  this  wheat,  transmuted  into  bread. 

620 


THE  DAYS  I  LOVE  THE  MOST 

By  Stanton  A,  Coblentz 

rrtHE  days  I  love  the  most,  of  all  our  days 
A    High  in  these  windy  mountains  of  the 

west, 
Are  when  the  clouds,  in  Alpine  whites  and 

grays, 
Pile    huge    against    the    summits,    crest    on 

crest; 
And  when  their  loosened  ranges,  in  the  blue 
Of  skies  as  lustrous-pure  as  lakes  of  dream, 
Roll    overhead,    with    shadows    that   pursue 
The   fleeing  light — a  never-ceasing  stream! 

Then,  in  the  alternating  gloom  and  blaze, 
When    vapory    peaks    eclipse    the    sun    and 

pass, 
A  sense  of  greatness  lifts  me;  and  I  gaze 
In  exaltation  at  the  blown  cloud  mass. 
And    in   the   gales,   that    beat   with   unseen 

wings, 
I  feel  the  jubilance  at  the  heart  of  things. 


ACCORDING  TO   SCHEDULE 
By  Lucretia   Penny 

Flame-tipped,  the  leaves  of  fall 
Reach  out  to  burn 
Bridges  behind  another  year 
That  shan't  return. 

RED  GERANIUMS 
By  Mabel  Jones  Gabbott 

Through   summer   days    they   filled    their 
space 
With  spicy  scent,  and  squatty  grace, 
With  blooms  that  rivaled   happily 
My  mother's  generosity; 
We  watched  each  shade  of  red  appear 
And    said,    "That's    mine    for    school,    this 

year"; 
Then  fall  would  come,  and  she  would  snip 
Of  every  hue  a  healthy  slip; 
And  cousins  would  stop  by  and  say, 
"A  red  geranium,  if  I  may." 
Fragrant  leaves,  ringed  in  dark  bands, 
Slipped  and  potted  with  loving  hands, 
Red  geraniums,  soon  to  sing 
Against  a  schoolbell's  vibrant  ring, 
Left  the  garden  each  September 
In  the  halcyon  days  that  I  remember. 

WE  THANK  THEE 

By  Gladys  Hesser  Burnham 

rt)R  all  the  beauties  of  this  tranquil  land, 
*■    Pine-clad    hills    and    rushing   mountain 

streams, 
Meadows  of  lush  grass  and  star-eyed  bloom 
Bordered   with   drifts   of   quaking   asps    and 
dreams; 

For  quiet  lakes  of  rhythmic  seashore  swell 
Of  breaker's  gently  rolling,  harnessed  might; 
Burnished  deserts,  rimmed  with  rainbowed- 

hills, 
Brighter  stars  there  light  the  tranquil  night; 

We  thank  Thee  for  the  peace  and  dignity 
Of  sunsets  and  of  softly  falling  snow. 
Nature  spreads  a  balm  that  covers  all 
Ugliness  and  casts  a  vivid  glow. 


GARDEN  AT  DUSK 

By  Ethel  Hope  Hodson 

T|usk  now  slips  into  the  garden 
^  And  its  pattern  slowly  traces 
In  each  cranny,  in  each  crevice, 
And  on  flowers'  elfin  faces; 
Creeps  along  the  climbing  roses; 
Touches  lilies  with  cool  fingers; 
Carpets  every  path  and  corner; 
On  the  fence  and  low  gate  lingers; 
Tarries  with  a  calm  assurance; 
Nor  asks  once  if  it  may  borrow 
All  the  peace  and  tranquil  beauty 
Of  my  garden — till  tomorrow. 


ON  THE  STREET  OF  THE  SILVER 
LANTERN 

By   Ethel   Jacobson 

4\N  the  Street  of  the  Silver  Lantern 
^   Where  the  violet  shadows  lay, 
I  walked,  and  my  heart  was  heavy 

A  long  and  lonely  way, 
For  no  voice  broke  the  silence 

Save  a  dove  in  the  willow  tree, 
And  no  one  walked  beside  me 

Except   a   memory. 

But  the  darkness  swiftly  lifted, 

And  my  heart  was  suddenly  light 
As  it  echoed  the  dove's  soft  murmur 

In  the  still  and  listening  night. 
Oh,  the  violet  shadows  vanished 

In  pearly  moonlight  then. 
On  the  Street  of  the  Silver  Lantern 

I  met  my  love  again! 


FIELDS  AT  NIGHT 
By  Miranda  Snow  Walton 

f  stood  in  whispering  fields  at  night, 

■*•     And  loveliness  was  there; 

The  moon  came  down  and  touched  a  tree, 

Ran  fingers  through  her  hair. 
The  tranquil  wind   caressed   the  fields, 

And  ripened  wheat  reclined; 
While  thoughts  of  you,  like  homing  birds, 

Came  flying  to  my  mind. 
Was  it  the  yearning  thought  of  you 

Or  the  beauty  of  the  grain 
That  filled  my  eyes  with  blinding  tears 

And  knifed  my  heart  with  pain? 

SUMMER'S  END 
By  Zara  Sabin 

TIere  at  the  farm,  quite  suddenly, 

our   lives   are   tranquil    as   a   clear   deep 

stream 
flowing  between  high  green  banks. 
We  weed  no  more  but  leisurely 
gather   the   ripened   crops.     Our   days   now 

seem 
more  mellow — time  for  giving  thanks! 

• 
Beauty  surrounds  us.     Full  and  dark 
the    corn    silk    falls    from    golden    rustling 

leaves 
blown  gently  by  a  wandering  breeze. 
The  richness  of  scarlet  tomatoes  mark 
the  garden's  end.     Cool  cucumbers  weave 
with  scalloped  squash,  a  patterned  frieze. 

Wild  grapes  hang  red  and  sweet  along 

the  meadow's  edge.     Slowly  down  the  road, 

boldly  outlined  by  westering  sun, 

with  supple  movement,  sure  and  strong, 

the  great  farm  horses  move  their  lumbering 

load 
of  fragrant  hay.     Summer  is  done. 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


< 


;5s5^5;3vi?&S&S;^^ 


/  ■  .-.'•';  ;t,,r. ;,'.,-.. br*& 


Concerning  Faith 

by  President  David  O.  McKay 


Man's  span  of  life  may  be  comprehended  by 
three  terms:  that  which  was,  that  which  is, 
and  that  which  will  be.  Mormonism  means 
to  me  the  true  philosophy  of  these  three  states  of 
being.  It  explains  the  past;  it  is  a  safe  guide  for 
the  present;  it  unveils  the  future. 

It  gives  to  me  an  assurance  that  God  is  truly 
my  Father  and  that  therefore  I  must  have  in- 
herited his  immortality.  This  explanation  of  my 
beginning  is  the  anchor  of  my  soul  amidst  the 
unsettled,  never-resting  theories  advanced  in  at- 
tempted explanations  of  the  origin  of  man.  So  far 
as  man's  antemortal  state  is  concerned,  I  rejoice 
in  the  fact  that  "he  was  in  the  beginning  with  the 
Father." 

My  faith  means  an  unfailing  guide  through  the 
present  existence,  a  final  solution  of  life's  prob- 
lems. It  teaches  me  that  only  through  individual 
effort  may  true  success  and  happiness  be  obtained. 
Only  through  cleanliness  and  purity  of  thought, 
of  word  and  action  may  we  enjoy  to  perfection 
the  inspiration  of  the  Lord.  There  is  no  aristoc- 
racy of  birth  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  no  truly 
eternal  reward  to  an  individual  through  the  ex- 
cellency of  another's  character.  Everyone  must 
work  out  his  own  salvation.  This  life  is  truly  a 
garden  in  which  every  person  gathers  fruits  from 
the  seed  he  plants.  If  he  plants  weeds,  weeds 
will  he  harvest.  If  he  plants  flowers  and  useful 
grains,  beautiful  flowers  and  rich  harvest  will 
reward  him.  But  an  abundant  harvest  is  the  re- 
sult only  of  painstaking,  intelligent  cultivation. 

Though  I've  had  but  glimpses  of  the  compre- 
hensiveness of  the  gospel,  yet  it  includes  for  me 
all  the  conditions  necessary  for  the  physical,  the 
intellectual,  the  moral,  and  the  spiritual  develop- 
ment of  this  human  life.  Obedience  to  it  means 
obedience  to  the  laws  of  health  and  happiness.    It 


means  the  keeping  of  the  body  pure  and  unde- 
filed  and  the  spirit  attuned  with  the  infinite. 

My  faith  is  a  constant  inspiration  to  search  al- 
ways for  truth,  to  seek  ever  for  what  is  "virtuous, 
lovely,  or  of  good  report  or  praiseworthy." 

My  faith  as  well  as  my  heart  assures  me  that 
the  dearest  possession  a  man  has  is  his  family.  In 
the  gospel  we  have  the  divine  assurance  that  the 
ties  of  kindred  will  transcend  the  boundaries  of 
death  and  continue  throughout  the  endless  ages 
of  eternity.  Thus  my  faith  means  more  to  me  than 
all  else  in  the  world;  for  it  gives  me  the  assur- 
ance that  when  the  marriage  vow  bears  the  seal 
of  the  Holy  Priesthood,  it  is  as  eternal  as  love, 
as  everlasting  as  spirit. 

The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints 
was  established  by  the  authority  and  through  the 
personal  administration  of  the  Savior,  who  re- 
vealed again  to  the  Prophet  Joseph  the  true  re- 
lationship of  man  to  his  maker.  Man  is  in  spirit 
literally  the  offspring  of  deity,  and  as  such, 
through  obedience  to  the  laws  of  life,  he  may 
become  in  all  essential  characteristcs  and  power 
like  unto  the  Father. 

Faith  is  the  great  need  of  the  world  today,  faith 
that  there  is  a  God  in  heaven,  who  is  real,  not 
just  a  force,  but  a  Father  who  hears  prayers  and 
answers  them. 

Faith  in  God  cannot  of  course  be  other  than 
personal.  It  must  be  yours;  it  must  be  mine;  and 
to  be  effective  must  spring  from  the  mind  and 
heart.  Every  man  will  do  well  to  pray  with 
Emerson:  "O  God,  make  me  willing  to  be  willing 
to  do  thy  will." 

Faith  is  that  principle  which  draws  our  spirit 
into  communion  with  the  higher  spirit  which 
will  bring  all  things  to  our  remembrance,  show 

{Concluded  on  following  page) 


(< 


SEPTEMBER  1955 


THE  EDITOR'S  PAGE 


(Concluded  from  preceding  page) 
us  things  to  come,  and  teach  us  all  things.     To  acquire 
that  Spirit  is  the  high  incentive  of  the  sincere  seeker  after 
truth. 

The  gospel,  therefore,  is  to  me  the  true  philosophy 
of  life.  It  comprehends  our  birth,  which  is  but  a  "sleep 
and  a  forgetting";  our  present  existence,  which  is  a  school 


in  which  we  learn  by  experience  the  great  lessons  of 
life;  our  future,  which,  if  we  graduate  with  honor,  is 
an  everlasting  experience  where,  as  progressive^  personal 
beings  we  may  live  in  God's  eternal  realms  forever.  "The 
stars  may  fade  away,  the  sun  himself  grow  dim  with 
age,  and  nature  sink  in  years;  but  man  shall  flourish  in 
immortal  youth,  unhurt  amidst  the  war  of  elements,  the 
wreck  of  matter  and  the  crash  of  worlds." 


by  Joseph  Fielding  Smith 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  COUNCIL  OF  THE  TWELVE 


Why  Is  Oil  Used  in  Administering  to  the  Sick? 


"Why  is  it  that  we  use  oil  in  administer- 
ing to  the  sick?  There  is  no  reference 
in  the  Doctrine  and  Covenants  directing  its  use.  In  ^ur 
discussions  this  question  has  been  raised,  and  why  some 
other  oil  would  not  answer  just  as  well  as  olive  oil? 
When  was  this  practice  of  anointing  with  oil  intro- 
duced?" 


We  use  olive  oil  in  administering  to  the 
sick  because  the  Lord  has  instructed  it. 
It  is  true  there  is  no  mention  in  the  Doctrine  and  Cove- 
nants to  the  use  of  oil  in  administering  to  the  sick,  but 
there  are  references  to  the  anointing  with  oil  in  the 
conferring  of  authority  and  sacred  blessings.  This  prac- 
tice has  come  down  to  us  from  the  time  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Church,  according  to  the  pattern  anciently 
given. 

It  was  an  olive  leaf  that  the  dove  brought  to  Noah  in- 
dicating that  the  water  of  the  flood  was  abated.  From 
that  time  on  the  olive  leaf  or  branch  and  the  dove  have 
been  emblems  of  peace  and  purity.  In  many  parables  in 
the  scriptures,  the  olive  tree  is  mentioned  as  symbolic 
of  righteousness  and  having  reference  to  the  kingdom  of 
God  or  the  Church.  In  the  fifth  chapter  of  Jacob,  in  the 
Book  of  Mormon,  is  found  a  prophetic  parable  of  the 
planting  of  branches  of  the  "tame  olive  tree,"  or  the 
house  of  Israel,  in  various  corners  of  the  earth,  and  how, 
when  they  grew  and  bore  fruit  and  commenced  to  decay, 
the  husbandman  grafted  into  these  branches  of  the  main 
tree  branches  from  the  wild  olive  to  see  if  they  would 
revive.  This  parable  portrays  the  scattering  of  Israel 
through  the  ages  and  is  intensely  interesting.  Likewise, 
we  find  in  the  Doctrine  and  Covenants,  section  101, 
there  is  a  parable  of  the  planting  of  twelve  olive  trees 
in  the  Lord's  vineyard.  This  also  has  prophetic  mean- 
ing. In  Revelation  1 1 :4,  the  Lord  speaks  of  his  two 
witnesses  as  two  olive  trees,  and  in  Zechariah  4:11-14  is 
a  similar  prophetic  parable.    So  we  find  through  all  the 

622 


prophetic  writings  that  olive  trees  and  olive  oil  are  em- 
blems of  sacredness  and  purity. 

When  the  Prophet  Joseph  Smith  sent  to  the  brethren 
m  Missouri  a  copy  of  the  eighty-eighth  section  of  the 
Doctrine  and  Covenants,  he  prized  it  so  highly  that  he 
wrote  to  them  saying:  "I  send  you  the  olive  leaf  which 
we  have  plucked  from  the  Tree  of  Paradise,"  thus  apply- 
ing the  thought  of  purity  and  wisdom. 

The  use  of  olive  oil  in  anointing  is  from  very  ancient 
times.  It  was  the  custom  to  anoint  prophets,  kings,  and 
holy  messengers  as  a  stamp  or  token  of  their  official 
calling.  In  Leviticus,  8:6-12,  is  an  interesting  account 
of  the  calling  of  Aaron,  and  how  Moses  not  only  anointed 
Aaron,  but  likewise  the  altar  and  the  vessels,  and  sancti- 
fied them  with  holy  oil.  Samuel  also  anointed  Saul  and 
proclaimed  him  king  in  Israel,  and  when  Saul  trans- 
gressed, David  was  anointed  in  his  stead  to  be  king  of 
Israel.  This  custom  continued  in  Israel  until  they  were 
rejected  by  the  Lord  and  scattered. 

The  olive  tree  and  its  golden  oil  were  among  the 
greatest  treasures  of  Israel.     The  Lord  said  to  Moses: 

"And  thou  shalt  command  the  children  of  Israel,  that 
they  bring  thee  pure  oil  olive  beaten  for  the  light,  to 
cause  the  lamp  to  burn  always. 

"In  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation  without  the  vail, 
which  is  before  the  testimony,  Aaron  and  his  sons  shall 
order  it  from  evening  to  morning  before  the  Lord:  it 
shall  be  a  statute  for  ever  unto  their  generations  on  the 
behalf  of  the  children  of  Israel."  (Exodus  27:20-21.) 

No  other  kind  of  oil  will  do  in  anointing.  It  is  very 
apparent  that  the  oil  from  animal  flesh  would  never 
do,  and  there  is  no  other  kind  of  oil  that  is  held  so 
sacredly  and  is  more  suited  to  the  anointing  than  the 
oil  of  olive;  moreover,  the  Lord  has  placed  his  stamp  of 
approval  on  it. 


Cy^C  ^££^>£L^S-~ 


THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


Presumptuous  Sins 


|  |  by  Arthur  M.  Richardson 


Elohim  is  a  God  of  justice.    This  is 
more  than  an  inference.     It  is  a 
truism.     In  fact,  it  is  more  than 
that,  it  is  a  revealed  truth. 

His  way  with  men  manifests  this 
attribute  in  full  measure.  To  Moses 
he  said: 

Ye  shall  have  one  law  for  him  that  sin- 
neth  through  ignorance,  both  for  him  that 
is  born  among  the  children  of  Israel,  and 
for  the  stranger  that  sojourneth  among 
them. 

But  the  soul  that  doeth  ought  pre- 
sumptuously [when  he  knows  better], 
whether  he  be  born  in  the  land,  or  a 
stranger,  the  same  reproacheth  the  Lord; 
and  that  soul  shall  be  cut  off  from  among 
his  people. 

Because  he  hath  despised  the  word  of 
the  Lord,  and  hath  broken  his  command- 
ment, that  soul  shall  utterly  be  cut  off;  his 
iniquity  shall  be  upon  him.  (Numbers 
15:29-31.) 

Here  the  Lord  recognizes  two  gen- 
eral classifications  of  sinners:  those 
who  are  ignorant  of  the  law;  then, 
those  who  knowingly  sin  against  the 
law,  who  do  wrong  when  they  know 
what  is  right,  who  sin  presumptuous- 
ly. The  76th  section  of  the  Doctrine 
and  Covenants  sets  forth  the  ends 
of  these  groups  in  accordance  with  the 
justice  and  mercy  of  God. 

The  story  of  Eli  the  priest  illustrates 
the  presumptuous  sinner.  He  was 
a  temple  priest  as  were  his  two  sons. 

There  was  a  law  in  ancient  Israel 
that  provided  that  the  priests  take 
part  of  the  offerings  to  be  burned  for 
their  own  sustenance.  Eli's  sons, 
while  they  continued  to  function  in 
their  portion  of  the  priests'  calling, 
had  forgotten  the  God  of  their  father, 
and  were  demanding  more  than  their 
share  of  the  offerings  as  they  pre- 
pared them  for  sacrifice.  "Where- 
fore the  sin  of  the  young  men  was 
very  great  before  the  Lord.  ..."  (See 
I  Samuel  2:12-17.) 

As  Eli,  the  priestly  father  of  these 
two  unpriestly  sons,  grew  older,  he 
heard  of  other  sins  committed  by  his 
sons. 

And  he  said  unto  them,  Why  do  ye  such 
things?  for  I  hear  of  your  evil  dealings  by 
all  this  people. 


Nay,  my  sons;  for  it  is  no  good  report 
that  I  hear:  ye  make  the  Lord's  people  to 
transgress. 

If  one  man  sin  against  another,  the  judge 
shall  judge  him:  but  if  a  man  sin  against 
the  Lord,  who  shall  intreat  for  him?  Not- 
withstanding they  hearkened  not  unto  the 
voice  of  their  father,  because  the  Lord 
would  slay  them.   {Ibid.,  2:23-25.) 

Like  most  rebellious,  wicked  sons 
they  refused  to  take  counsel  from 
their  father.  However,  Eli's  responsi- 
bility did  not  end  with  counseling  his 
sons.  He  had  a  further  responsibility 
to  protect  the  people  from  their 
depredations.  This  he  failed  to  do. 
Rather,  he  allowed  them  to  continue 
in  their  priestly  office  taking  advan- 
tage of  the  people  physically,  spirit- 
ually, and  morally.  Therefore, 
through  a  messenger  God  warned 
Eli: 

And  there  came  a  man  of  God  unto  Eli, 
and  said  unto  him,  Thus  saith  the  Lord, 
Did  I  plainly  appear  unto  the  house  of  thy 
father,  when  they  were  in  Egypt  in 
Pharaoh's   house? 

And  did  I  choose  him  out  of  all  the 
tribes  of  Israel  to  be  my  priest,  to  offer 
upon  mine  altar,  to  burn  incense,  to  wear 
an  ephod  before  me?  and  did  I  give  unto 
the  house  of  thy  father  all  the  offerings 
made  by  fire  of  the  children  of  Israel? 

Wherefore  kick  ye  at  my  sacrifice  and  at 
mine  offering,  which  I  have  commanded  in 
my  habitation;  and  honourest  thy  sons 
above  me,  to  make  yourselves  fat  with  the 
chiefest  of  all  the  offerings  of  Israel  my 
people?    {Ibid.,  2:27-29.) 

Then  God  pronounced  a  curse  up- 
on Eli  and  his  family  which  meant 
their  eventual  death  and  severance 
forever  from  the  priestly  office.  Even 
this  dire  fate  failed  to  stir  Eli  out  of 
his  lethargy  to  the  point  where  he 
would  discipline  his  sons.  So  finally, 
through  Samuel  the  Prophet,  God 
revealed  to  Eli  that  the  day  was  at 
hand  when  judgment  would  fall  upon 
him  and  his  household. 

Speaking  to  Samuel,  God  said: 

In  that  day  I  will  perform  against  Eli 
all  things  which  I  have  spoken  concerning 
his  house:  when  I  begin,  I  will  also  make 
an  end. 

For  I  have  told  him  that  I  will  judge 
his  house  for  ever  for  the  iniquity  which 
he  knoweth;  because  his  sons  made  them- 


selves vile,  and  he  restrained  them  not. 
And  therefore  I  have  sworn  unto  the 
house  of  Eli,  that  the  iniquity  of  Eli's  house 
shall  not  be  purged  with  sacrifice  nor  of- 
fering for  ever.    {Ibid.,  3:12-14.) 

In  examining  God's  indictment  of 
Eli  two  things  become  apparent:  One 
is  that  Eli  knew,  though  his  son's  were 
adults,  that  he  should  have  taken  dis- 
ciplinary action  against  them  in  addi- 
tion to  merely  counseling  them;  arid 
further,  the  fact  that  Eli  counseled 
his  sons  meant  that  the  two  men 
knew  the  law  and  deliberately  flouted 
it.  They  became  presumptuous  sin- 
ners.    For  that  God  took  their  lives. 

Another  presumptuous  sinner  was 
David.     Though  he  prayed: 

Keep  back  thy  servant  also  from  pre- 
sumptuous sins;  let  them  not  have  dominion 
over  me:  then  shall  I  be  upright,  and  I  shall 
be  innocent  from  the  great  transgression. 
(Psalm  19:13.) 

Yet  he  fell  into  the  great  trans- 
gression, sinned  presumptuously  in 
the  murder  of  Uriah  and  the  stealing 
fo  Uriah's  wife,  and  "...  hath  fallen 
from  his  exaltation,  ..."  (D.  &  C. 
132:39.) 

Unrepentant  saints  of  God  who  sin 
presumptuously  but  not  unto  the 
great  transgression  will  come  forth 
in  the  resurrection,  but  meanwhile 
they  "shall  be  delivered  unto  the 
bufferings  of  Satan  unto  the  day  of 
redemption,  saith  the  Lord  God." 
{Ibid.,  132:26.)  Surely  no  one  can 
expect  to  lay  claim  to  the  forgiving 
power  of  the  atoning  blood  of  Christ 
who  knowingly  sets  at  naught  the 
laws  of  Christ.  God  cannot  hold 
those  guiltless  who  despise  authority 
and  authorities,  and  refuse  to  keep 
his  law  when  they  know  it.  (See  II 
Peter  2:9-10.) 

Jacob,  the  Book  of  Mormon  proph- 
et, recognized  the  enormity  of  pre- 
sumptuous sins: 

.  .  .  wo  unto  him  that  has  the  law  given, 
yea,  that  has  all  the  commandments  of 
God,  like  unto  us,  and  that  transgresseth 
them,  and  that  wasteth  the  days  of  his 
probation,  for  awful  is  his  state!  (2  Nephi 
9:27.) 

{Concluded  on  page  671) 


SEPTEMBER  1955 


623 


—Photo   by   G.   Schmid 
The  completed  Swiss  Temple — the  first  to  be  erected  and  dedicated  in  Europe. 


The  dedication  of  the  Swiss  Temple 
at  Bern,  Switzerland,  commencing 
September  11,  1955,  marks  the 
eleventh  temple  to  be  completed  in  the 
Dispensation  of  the  Fulness  of  Times 
and  the  first  temple  to  be  erected  on 
the  continent  of  Europe.  The  erec- 
tion of  this  temple  is  a  tribute  to  the 
faithfulness  and  the  worthiness  of  the 
40,000  members  of  the  Church  who 
live  in  Europe. 

The  story  behind  the  dedication  is 
a  stirring  one  and  one  that  is  condu- 
cive to  testimony  and  faith.  The  his- 
tory of  any  temple  beats  out  the  pulse 
of  a  people  for  whom  it  was  erected. 
That  is  equally  true  of  the  temple 
that  now  stands  on  the  outskirts  of 
Bern,  on  a  site  of  beauty  and  distinc- 
tion, even  in  the  land  noted  for  its 
beauty. 

Bern  is  the  capital  of  Switzerland, 


where  convenes  the  government  of  the 
cantons,  which  have  so  long  fought 
for  freedom  and  the  rights  of  man. 
The  city  is  at  once  an  ancient  and  a 
modern  city.  The  glorious  Jural 
Mountains  and  the  magnificent  Alps 
can  both  be  seen  on  clear  days  from 
the  temple  lot  as  well  as  from  the  city 
of  Bern.  The  glacial  water  of  the 
Aare  River  flows  through  the  city  of 
Bern,  making  it  a  rare  and  beautiful 
sight.  Behind  the  temple  is  a  luxuri- 
ous grove,  creating  a  feeling  of  quiet 
and  peace. 

When  President  David  O.  McKay 
with  his  party,  which  included  his 
wife  and  son,  Dr.  Llewelyn  R. 
McKay,  visited  Europe  in  the  summer 
of  1952,  the  plans  were  perfected  for 
the  erection  of  a  temple  on  the  conti- 
nent of  Europe,  as  well  as  in  Great 
Britain.    Elder  Samuel  E.  Bringhurst, 


AGAINST  THE  BACKDROP0 


A  TEMPLE  IS 


then  president  of  the  Swiss -Austrian 
Mission,  was  assigned  the  responsi- 
bility of  trying  to  obtain  the  land 
which  President  McKay  had  seen 
which  would  prove  suitable  as  a  tem- 
ple site.  Difficulties  arose,  however, 
and  in  November  of  1952  President 
Bringhurst  wrote   President   McKay: 

"After  much  fasting  and  prayer  and 
several  months  of  work  we  just  re- 
ceived an  unfavorable  answer  to  our 
request  to  purchase  the  temple  site 
in  Bern.*  *  * 

"Although  a  little  disappointed  I 
am  not  dismayed,  and  for  some  un- 
known reason  feel  relieved.  We  have 
done  everything  humanly  possible  to 
consummate  the  purchase  of  the  site 
you  approved,  and  I  am  confident 
everything  will  yet  turn  out  for  the 
best." 

President  McKay's  answer  bore  the 
same  feeling  of  confidence  that  Presi- 
dent Bringhurst  had  expressed:  "As 
I  read  your  letter  stating  that  all 
effort  had  failed  and  a  negative  de- 
cision had  been  rendered,  I  was  not 
surprised,  but  at  first  disappointed; 
however,  strangely  enough,  my  disap- 
pointment soon  disappeared  and  was 
replaced  by  an  assurance  that  the 
Lord  will  overrule  all  transactions  for 
the  best  good  of  his  Church,  not  only 


President    David    O.    McKay    and    party    breaking    the 
ground  in  August  1953. 

624 


The  excavation  for  the  temple. 


THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


mak. 


OF  THE  JURALS  AND  THE  ALPS 

RISEN  TO  OUR  LORD 


by  Marba  C  Josephson 

ASSOCIATE  MANAGING   EDITOR 


in   Switzerland    but   throughout   Eu- 
rope." 

The  difficulty  of  obtaining  land 
in  Europe  is  not  too  well  recognized 
by  people  who  live  on  other  conti- 
nents, particularly  in  the  Western 
Hemisphere.  Europe  is  an  old  conti- 
nent, and  most  of  the  land  has  been 
acquired  by  families  that  try  to  safe- 
guard it  for  their  own.  One  Swiss 
gentleman  told  the  Saints:  "Switzer- 
land is  small,  and  there's  only  one 
crop  of  land.  The  prospects  are  that 
the  prices  will  be  higher  next  year 
than  at  present."  Land  is  at  a 
premium  in  most  of  the  countries  of 
Europe. 

The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  moved  in  a 
miraculous  way  to  open  the  way  for 
the  erection  of  a  temple.  The  dis- 
couragement that  must  have  envel- 
oped the  Saints  and  the  missionaries 
was  soon  lifted  when  President  Bring- 
hurst  learned  of  another  tract  of  land, 
even  more  suitable  and  more  advan- 
tageously located  than  the  previous 
site  had  been.  One  week  after  the 
first  letter  to  President  McKay,  Presi- 
dent Bringhurst  wrote  again  that  he 
had  found  an  available  place  near 
Bern  which  consisted  of  twice  the 
amount  of  land  at  half  the  price  of 
the  former  location.  This  land  con- 
sisted of  6.72  acres  and  had  several 
additional  advantages  over  the  other 
property.  The  sale  price  included 
the  hard  surfacing  of  the  streets  as 
well  as  water  and  sewer  connections. 
President  Bringhurst  concluded  his 
letter: 

"We  gratefully  acknowledge  the 
help  of  the  Lord  in  this  transaction. 
We  thank  you,  President  McKay,  and 
the  others  for  your  faith  and  prayers. 
Our  entire  group  of  missionaries 
fasted  and  prayed,  and  immediately 
after  the  property  became  available." 

It  is  difficult  to  imagine  the  beauty 
of  the  temple  environment.  Behind 
it  the  grove,  already  mentioned,  seems 
reminiscent  of  the  Sacred  Grove.  Even 
SEPTEMBER  1955 


the  birds'  songs  Seemed  muted  the 
day  the  author  walked  through  the 
grove  of  trees.  In  the  distance  the 
Jural     Mountains    make    a    striking 


President  Stephen  L  Richards  of  the  First 
Presidency  places  the  cornerstone  of  the 
Swiss  Temple. 

backdrop,  and  behind  them  the  ma- 
jestic Alps  bring  additional  sublimity 
to  the  temple.  Reverence  and  sanc- 
tity abound  in  and  around  the  Swiss 
Temple   grounds. 

After  the  land  was  purchased  and 
architects  engaged,  President  McKay 


dedicated  the  temple  site  for  the  com- 
mencement of  work  on  August  5, 
1953.  It  was  a  stirring  occasion. 
President  William  F.  Perschon,  form- 
er  President  Bringhurst,  President  A. 
Hamer  Reiser,  as  well  as  Dr.  Llewelyn 
R.  McKay,  were  in  attendance  at  this 
momentous  event.  At  this  service 
two  moving  Church  hymns  were 
sung:  "The  Spirit  of  God  Like  a  Fire 
Is  Burning,"  and  "The  Day  Dawn  Is 
Breaking." 

In  President  McKay's  dedicatory 
prayer  he  said,  in  part, 

"We  are  grateful  for  the  privilege 
we  have  of  assembling  here  in  this 
country  where  freedom  is  cherished, 
where  the  individual  is  free  to  wor- 
ship God  according  to  the  dictates  of 
his  own  conscience.  We  ask  thee  to 
continue  to  bless  this  nation.  The 
love  of  the  Lord  as  they  believe  in 
thee  is  in  their  hearts  as  is  that  love 
of  truth.  And  on  this  sacred  occa- 
sion we  invoke  thy  blessings  upon 
the  Swiss  government  and  the  Swiss 
people. 

"We  are  grateful  for  the  assistance 
of  kind  friends  who  have  aided  Presi- 
dent Bringhurst,  President  Zimmer, 
and  others  associated  with  them  in 
selecting  this  spot  on  which  a  temple 
may  be  reared  unto  thy  name  and 
thy  glory.  *  *  * 

"We  are  grateful  for  the  restora- 
tion of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  in 
its  purity,  and  we  are  grateful  for 
the  organization  of  the  Church,  the 
custodian  of  the  gospel  in  this  day. 
Bless  all  those  who  are  presiding  in 
thy  Church — the  First  Presidency,  the 
Quorum  of  the  Twelve,  the  Patriarch 
to  the  Church,  the  Assistants  to  the 
Twelve,  the  Seventy,  the  Presiding 
Bishopric,  the  stake,  ward,  mission 
authorities,  that  they  may  sense  their 
responsibilities  as  true  representa- 
tives.* *  * 

(Continued  on  following  page) 


The  home  for  the 
president  of  the  Swiss 
Temple,  President 
Samuel  E.  Bringhurst 
its  first  occupant. 


625 


The  building  as  it  stood  on  July  I,  1954, 
(above),  and  (right)  the  building  at  the 
time  of  the  cornerstone  ceremonies,  Novem- 
ber 13,  1954. 

— Photos  by  G.  Schmid 


A  Temple  Is  Risen  to  Our  Lord 

(Continued  from  preceding  page) 
"Now  our  Heavenly  Father,  as  thy 
servant  holding  the  Holy  Priesthood 
and  representing  the  membership  in 
Bern,  in  surrounding  branches,  and 
at  present  the  membership  in  Europe, 
we  dedicate  this  tract  of  land  for  the 
purpose  of  erecting  a  temple  unto  thy 
name;  also  a  chapel  in  which  the 
members  of  this  surrounding  dis- 
trict may  meet  to  worship  thee,  week- 
ly and  as  often  as  conveniences  per- 
mit and  necessity  requires;  also  for  the 
erection  of  houses  that  may  be  used 
for  shelter  and  housekeeping  by  those 
who  come  from  distant  lands. 

"We  dedicate  every  spot  of  this 
tract  that  it  may  be  considered  sacred 
whether  it  be  retained  for  temple 
purposes  or  otherwise  disposed  of. 
And  we  include  the  land  surrounding 
purchased  by  our  friends  that  proper 
environment  may  be  sustained,  that 
no  objectionable  buildings  may  be 
erected.  Now  we  beseech  thee, 
Father  in  heaven,  that  thou  wilt  ac- 
cept this  dedication  and  take  charge 
of  all  things  from  this  moment. 

"We  invoke  thy  blessings  upon  the 
architects  who  have  drawn  plans  for 
a  building  worthy  of  thy  name  to  be 
erected  in  this  spot.  We  pray  thee 
to  bless  the  contractors,  to  bless  the 
builders  and  all  the  electricians,  all 
the  master  workmen.  May  everyone 
sense  that  he  is  building,  even  as  he 
lays  the  blocks  and  the  mortar  or  the 
wires  or  the  plumbing  or  any  part 
of  the  building,  that  he  is  doing  it 
to  thy  name  and  to  thy  glory. 

626 


^tifaip* 


"May  they  realize  that  they  are 
building  for  future  generations,  that 
hundreds  of  thousands,  perhaps  mil- 
lions, will  look  upon  this  structure 
and  say  that  those  men  built  that 
house  to  the  glory  of  God.  And 
with  that  thought  in  mind,  may  the 
builders  do  their  best,  even  exceed 
their  own  ability,  that  the  structure 
may  be  a  credit  to  this  village,  to  the 
surrounding  villages,  to  the  city  of 
Bern,  to  the  country  of  Switzerland,  as 
well  as  to  the  entire  Church.*  *  * 

"Accept  this  dedication,  O  Father. 
Accept  our  gratitude.  Hear,  we  be- 
seech thee,  our  pleadings  for  thy  pro- 
tecting care  over  this  property.  In 
the  erection  of  the  building  may  there 
be  no  fatal  accidents;  that  care  may 
be  manifested  by  the  overseers,  con- 
tractors, and  all  connected  therewith; 
that  when  we  meet  in  the  near  future 
to  dedicate  the  edifice  unto  thee  and 
thy  glory,  may  we  look  back  upon 
this  occasion  and  upon  all  interven- 
ing activities  without  regret,  but  with 
pride  and  with  cherished  memories  of 


this  sacred  occasion,  we  humbly  pray 
in  the  name  of  thy  Beloved  Son, 
Jesus  Christ.     Amen." 

Following  the  dedication,  the  work 
began  in  earnest.  The  excavation 
for  the  foundation  of  the  temple  was 
completed  midway  in  December 
1953.  After  the  first  of  the  year,  how- 
ever, the  construction  had  to  be 
halted  because  of  the  severe  winter 
weather.  Early  in  the  spring  (March 
1954)  work  was  resumed  and  went 
rapidly  forward.  Edward  O.  Ander- 
son, Church  architect,  was  in  charge 
of  the  plans  for  the  temple,  and  ob- 
tained assistance  from  Hans  Jordi,  a 
Swiss  architect,  and  Wilhelm  Zimmer, 
who  in  addition  to  his  building  pro- 
fession is  a  member  of  the  Church. 
Close  and  cordial  relations  have  en- 
abled the  work  to  push  ahead  rapidly. 
This  close  co-operation  also  has  as- 
sisted in  the  cutting  of  expenses, 
which  at  first  seemed  impossible  to 
curtail. 

President  Stephen  L  Richards  of 
the  First  Presidency  laid  the  corner- 
stone on  November  13,  1954,  at  which 
time  the  superstructure  had  been 
nearly  completed  and  the  concrete 
part  of  the  tower  had  been  poured. 
President  Richards  (accompanied  by 
Sister  Richards,)  laid  the  cornerstone, 
commended  those  in  charge  for  the 
work  thus  far  accomplished  and  en- 
couraged the  completion  of  the  build- 
ing to  the  Lord. 

The  dedicatory  prayer  of  Presi- 
dent Stephen  L  Richards  follows,  in 
part: 

"We  thank  thee  for  the  sacred  his- 
tory of  thy  restored  Church,  with. all 
its  sorrows  and  its  joys,  its  drivings, 
its  hardships,  its  triumphs  and  suc- 
cesses. We  thank  thee  for  the  les- 
sons of  life  thou  hast  taught  us,  for 
the  understanding  and  truth  thou 
hast  implanted  in  our  hearts. 

"We  thank  thee  for  him  whom  thou 
didst  choose  to  initiate  thy  work  in 
this  dispensation,  even  the  Prophet 
Joseph  Smith.  We  thank  thee  for 
the  simplicity  and  firmness  of  his 
faith,  for  the  susceptibility  of  his 
youthful,  unspoiled  nature  to  the 
spiritual  manifestations  which  came 
from  thee  to  him,  and  for  the  divine 
truths  and  holy  principles  committed 
to  his  custody  for  the  guidance  and 
direction  and  the  ultimate  exaltation 
of  the  whole  familv  of  God  in  the 
earth.*   *   * 

"And  now,  our  Father,  midway  in 
the  process  of  construction  we  pause 

(Continued  on  page  684) 
THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


". . .  Who  Shall  Stand 
in  His  Holy  Place?" 


by  Frances  Brooks 


Who  shall  ascend  into  the  hill  of  the 
Lord?  or  who  shall  stand  in  his  holy 
place? 

He  that  hath  clean  hands,  and  a  pure 
heart;  who  hath  not  lifted  up  his  soul 
unto  vanity,  nor  sworn  deceitfully. 
(Psalm   24:3-4.) 

What  is  the  hill  of  the  Lord?  To 
me  the  hill  of  the  Lord  on  earth 
is  our  holy  temple,  for  it  is  here 
we  receive  the  keys  which  enable  us 
to  attain  celestial  glory  in  the  life 
hereafter. 

How  may  we  prepare  ourselves  so 
that  we  may  enter  the  temples,  and 
how  may  we  continue  to  live  worthy 
of  the  blessings  we  receive  there?  We 
must  not  be  ashamed  of  the  gospel, 
and  we  must  keep  ourselves  pure  by 
having  a  clean  body,  high  ideals, 
clean  speech,  pure  thoughts,  and 
righteous  actions. 

Just  how  important  to  us  are  clean 
speech  and  pure  thoughts?  Many 
people  use  language  which  our 
standards  tell  us  is  improper,  and 
they  say,  "What  can  a  few  little 
slang  words  hurt?"  It  is  important, 
for  as  Latter-day  Saint  girls  and 
women,  we  must  be  ladies,  and  a  lady 
does  not  use  profane  language. 

I  once  worked  in  an  office  where 
I  had  an  opportunity  to  meet  people 
from  many  walks  of  life.  One  day 
our  personnel  manager  brought  a  new 
girl  to  me  to  train.  My  first  impres- 
sion of  her  was  very  favorable.  Her 
personal  appearance  was  pleasing  and 
her  manners  impeccable.  She  went 
about  that  morning  learning  her  work 
and  asking  intelligent  questions.  I 
invited  her  to  join  a  group  of  us  for 
lunch,  and,  after  the  introductions 
were  made,  we  began  to  talk.  I  could 
tell  my  friends  were  favorably  im- 
pressed, as  I  had  been,  until  this  girl 
found  a  moment  for  telling  a  story, 
and  the  story  was  indecent  and  vul- 
gar. Immediately  an  illusion  I  had 
had  about  her  was  shattered,  be- 
cause she  allowed  her  speech  and 
thoughts  to  be  contaminated.    It  was 

*  Adapted  from  the  talk  given  at  the  speech  depart- 
ment session  of  June  Conference,  Sunday  afternoon, 
June   12,  1955. 

SEPTEMBER  1955 


impossible  not  to  feel  she  was  less 
refined  than  she  had  first  appeared. 

Our  Latter-day  Saint  standard  of 
dress  has  been  much  discussed.  We 
all  know  how  our  Church  leaders 
feel  about  this  subject,  but  it  is  in- 
teresting to  note  that  there  are  many 
other  prominent  and  famous  people 
who  agree  with  our  Church  leaders. 
Latter-day  Saint  girls  and  women  are 
queens  as  daughters  of  God.  Actually, 
it  is  rare  to  see  an  immodest  dress 
that  is  as  becoming  as  one  in  good 
taste. 

Latter-day  Saints  should  strive  to 
surround  themselves  with  an  en- 
vironment that  is  clean  and  pure.  A 
father  once  forbade  his  daughter  to 
associate  with  a  person  he  did  not 
feel  was  good  company.  Rebelliously, 
the  daughter  said,  "Father,  you  must 
think  me  a  child  if  you  feel  my  as- 
sociating with  this  person  would  ex- 
pose me  to  danger."  Silently  the 
father  went  to  the  hearth  and  picked 
up  a  dead  coal.  He  handed  it  to  his 
daughter  saying,  "Here,  take  it,  my 
child,  it  will  not  burn  you."  The 
daughter  did,  and  her  hands  and 
dress  became  blackened.  Crossly  she 
said,  "We  cannot  be  too  careful  in 
handling  coals."  "Yes,"  the  father 
answered,  "You  see,  my  child,  coals 
even  if  they  do  not  burn,  blacken. 
So  it  is  with  evil  company." 

Honoring  womanhood  is  of  greatest 
importance  to  a  Latter-day  Saint  girl. 
President  David  O.  McKay  said, 
"Chastity  is  the  crown  of  beautiful 
womanhood."  So  we  must  hold  our 
ideals  high,  for  before  we  can  enter 
the  temple  we  are  asked  if  we  are 
morally  clean,  and  we  must  be  pre- 
pared to  answer  honestly  in  the  af- 
firmative. 

Failure  to  honor  womanhood  by 
committing  the  moral  sin  is  a  grave 
mistake,  second  only  to  murder,  we 
are  told.    Our  Savior  tells  us  we  may 


receive  forgiveness  for  this  sin  if  we 
truly  repent,  but  the  road  is  long 
and  hard  and  heartbreaking.  There 
was  once  a  young  woman  who  did 
not  honor  her  womanhood  as  she 
should.  After  she  had  committed 
sin,  she  was  very  remoseful,  and 
imagine  her  feelings  when  she  was 
called  to  go  on  a  mission  and  she  had 
to  confess  her  sin.  Imagine,  also, 
how  she  felt  when  a  young  man  asked 
her  to  go  to  the  temple  to  become  his 
wife.  The  sin  she  committed  simply 
was  not  worth  the  price  she  had  to 
pay,  and  it  never  is. 

There  will  be  some  who  will  say, 
"Is  it  worth  it  to  keep  our  ideals  and 
standards  so  high  just  so  that  we  may 
have  a  temple  marriage?"  There 
are  many  young  people  who  feel  they 
would  wish  a  more  colorful  service 
instead.  Never  can  you  know  the 
joy  that  comes  with  temple  marriage 
until  you  have  been  able  to  have  this 
wonderful  blessing.  No  other  service, 
no  matter  how  elaborate,  could  ever 
compare  with  the  simple  beauty  of 
the  quiet  room,  where  you  and  your 
husband-to-be,  along  with  close 
friends  and  members  of  your  family, 
gather.  You  are  there,  for  you  are 
not  ashamed  of  the  gospel  of  Christ, 
and  you  have  lived  worthy  of  enter- 
ing this  sacred  building.  There  are 
no  curious  onlookers,  only  those  who 
have  your  happiness  close  to  their 
hearts,  and  there  you  are  married, 
not  for  time,  but  for  all  eternity,  and 
you  begin  your  life  together  with  the 
knowledge  that  your  marriage  has 
the  blessing  of  our  Father  in  heaven. 

As  your  children  come,  you  know 
that  these  precious  souls  which  God 
has  given  you  are  yours  for  eternity. 
There  are  no  doubts.  You  know  that 
your  family  will  remain  a  unit  al- 
ways. 

Can  any  wedding  offer  these 
blessings  or  can  any  earthly  pleasure 
compensate  for  not  receiving  them? 
Temple  marriage  is  truly  worth  any 
effort  we  may  make. 

May  our  Latter-day  Saint  young 
men  and  young  women  strive  earnest- 
ly to  have  clean  hands  and  a  pure 
heart,  that  they  may  be  worthy  of 
having  the  promise  as  given  in  the 
psalm  fulfilled,  namely,  "He  shall  re- 
ceive the  blessing  from  the  Lord,  and 
righteousness  from  the  God  of  his 
salvation." 


6atf6 


627 


Recently  I  drove  up  to  a  traffic 
light  parallel  with  another  auto- 
mobile, and  inasmuch  as  it  was  a 
nice  day,  the  windows  were  down, 
and  I  could  hear  the  conversation.  A 
father  was  behind  the  wheel,  and 
beside  him  was  his  young  son. 
The  father  was  very  patiently  ex- 
plaining to  him  the  difference  be- 
tween the  green  light  and  the  red 
light.  I  wondered  at  the  time 
whether  it  would  not  be  fine  if  we 
could  teach  the  youth  of  Zion  in 
simple  terms  the  difference  between 
the  green  light  and  the  red  light. 

I  am  grateful  for  what  leaders  of 
youth  do;  I  am  grateful  for  the  ex- 
ample set.  I  cannot  help  reflecting 
upon  that  as  I  think  of  the  great 
MIA  theme  selected  for  this  year: 
"...  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  gospel 
of  Christ:  for  it  is  the  power  of  God 
unto  salvation  to  everyone  that  be- 
lieveth;  .  .  ."  (Romans  1:16.)  I  think 
we  can  be  most  effective  in  teaching 
this  great  gospel  to  the  youth  by  that 
great  power  of  example. 

I  have  no  fear  for  the  youth  so  long 
as  they  have  proper  leadership  in  the 
organizations  of  the  Church,  and  in 
the  home,  which  is  our  basic  institu- 
tion. The  Lord  has  established 
through  his  wisdom  such  organiza- 
tions as  the  Mutual  where  the  young 
people  can  develop  in  a  recreational, 
cultural,  and  spiritual  way  the  talents 
with  which  they  have  been  blessed. 
We  see  constantly  in  the  MIA  the 
many  talents  displayed  by  these 
young  people  under  able  leadership 
and  direction. 

"You  can  preach  a  better  sermon 
with  your  life  than  with  your  lips. 
Precept  is  instruction  written  in  the 
sand;  the  tide  flows  over  it  and  the 
record  is  gone.  Example  is  graven 
on  the  rock,  and  the  lesson  is  not 
soon  lost."  (Channing.) 

Whatever  parent  gives  his  children 
good  instruction  and  sets  them  at  the 
same  time  a  bad  example  may  be 
considered  as  bringing  them  food  in 
the  one  hand  and  poison  in  the  other. 
Example  is  more  forcible  than  pre- 
cept. People  look  at  our  actions  six 
days  in  the  week  to  see  what  our 
words  mean  on  the  seventh.  But  I 
believe  that  we  as  Mutual  officers  in 
exercising  that  power  of  example  can 
enjoy  seven  Sabbaths  a  week.  Much 
more  gracious  and  profitable  is  doc- 
trine by  example  than  by  rule. 

Inasmuch  as  we  are  leaders,  inas- 
much as  we  are  desirous  of  knowing 
the  qualifications  necessary  to  fulfil 

628 


--Photo  by  Deserec  News-Salt  Lake  Telegram 

June  Conference  crowd  on  Temple  Square. 


our  duties  and  obligations,  we  look 
to  the  Lord  as  this  is  his  true  Church, 
and  he  has  not  forsaken  us  but  has 
given  the  qualifications  to  us  very 
explicitly  in  this  section. 

The  Lord  revealed  to  the  Prophet 
Joseph  Smith  in  February  of  1829,  as 
the  Prophet  declared  to  his  father  on 
that  occasion,  fourteen  months  be- 
fore the  Church  was  organized: 

Now  behold,  a  marvelous  work  is  about 
to  come  forth  among  the  children  of  men. 

Therefore,  O  ye  that  embark  in  the  serv- 
ice of  God,  see  that  ye  serve  him  with  all 
your  heart,  might,  mind  and  strength,  that 
ye  may  stand  blameless  before  God  at  the 
last  day. 

Therefore,  if  ye  have  desires  to  serve  God 
ye  are  called  to  the  work; 

For  behold  the  field  is  white  already  to 
harvest;  and  lo,  he  that  thrusteth  in  his 
sickle  with  his  might,  the  same  layeth  up 
in  store  that  he  perisheth  not,  but  bring- 
eth  salvation  to  his  soul; 

And  faith,  hope,  charity  and  love,  with 


an  eye  single  to  the  glory  of  God,  qualify 
him  for  the  work. 

Remember  faith,  virtue,  knowledge,  tem- 
perance, patience,  brotherly  kindness,  god- 
liness,  charity,   humility,   diligence. 

Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive;  knock,  and  it 
shall  be  opened  unto  you.  Amen.  (D.  &  C. 
4:1-7.) 

What  great  spiritual  refreshment 
there  is  in  those  few  verses,  and  they 
are  at  our  command  constantly  that 
we  might  refresh  our  hearts  and  our 
souls  with  these  true  characteristics 
which  will  qualify  us  for  service  in 
the  kingdom  of  God,  that  we  should 
serve  him  with  all  our  heart,  might, 
mind,  and  strength — not  with  a  half- 
heart  but  with  a  full  heart,  with  all 
our  heart,  might,  mind,  and  strength! 

We  cannot  go  into  this  work  half- 
heartedly, because  we  know  what  the 
results  will  be. 

I  stepped  in  an  elevator  last  Janu- 
ary with  another  gentlemen  who  had 
THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


QUALIFICATIONS 
FOR 


LEADERS 


a  package  in  his  hand.  I  had  an  idea 
about  what  was  in  it  but  asked  that 
foolish  question,  "What  have  you 
there?"  He  said,  "Oh,  I  have  one  of 
those  new  fishpoles."  "Well,"  I  said, 
"what's  new  about  a  fishpole?"  I 
don't  have  an  opportunity  to  go  fish- 
ing very  often  any  more.  He  said, 
"This  is  one  of  those  new  glass  fish- 
poles.  The  finest  that  money  can 
buy."  I  said,  "This  is  only  January. 
The  season  does  not  open  until  June. 
You  are  six  months  ahead."  And  he 
gave  me  a  very  significant  reply.  He 
said,  "But  I  want  to  be  prepared." 

"I  want  to  be  prepared."  He  was 
looking  for  that  day  when  he  could  go 
out  and  sit  on  the  creek  bank  and 
probably  use  that  new  fishpole,  and 
I  thought  of  the  scripture,  where  the 
Savior  said,  "Come,  follow  me,  and 
I  will  make  you  fishers  of  men.  Take 
my  yoke  upon  you:  for  my  yoke  is 
easy  and  my  burden  is  light."  (See 
Matt.  4:19;  11:29-30.) 

We  are  fishers  among  the  youth  of 
Zion,  helping  and  teaching  them  by 
example  and  by  precept  these  great 
truths,  with  love  in  our  hearts.  Then 
he  gave  unto  us  these  qualifications 
which  are  so  necessary:  ".  .  .  faith, 
hope,  charity,  and  love,  with  an  eye 
single  to  the  glory  of  God,  qualify 
him  for  the  work."  (D.  &  C.  4:5.)  Not 
for  our  own  glorification!  Not  that 
we  might  have  praise  at  some  MIA 
convention  or  some  fine  MIA  pro- 
gram on  Sunday  evening!  But  the 
important  thing  is  that  you  have  been 
the  instrument  in  the  hands  of  the 
Lord  in  touching  the  heart  of  some 
youth  of  Zion — not  only  those  who 
are  members  of  the  Church,  but  also 
there  are  many  come  under  your  in- 
struction who  are  non-members  of 
the  Church. 

I  thrilled  just  a  few  months  ago  as 
a  young  man  came  into  my  office 
and  said,  "Guess  what  happened  to 


by  Elder  John  Longden 

ASSISTANT   TO   THE    COUNCIL   OF    THE 
TWELVE 


♦Adapted     from  an     address     given     at     the     Friday 

afternoon    general  session    of    June    Conference,    June 
10,   1955. 

SEPTEMBER  1955 


me  last  night?"  And  I  said,  "I  don't 
know  what  happened  to  you.  What 
was  it?"  And  from  his  reflection  I 
knew  it  was  something  that  had 
brought  into  his  life  great  joy.  He 
said,  "I  was  just  set  apart  as  a  coun- 
selor in  a  bishopric."  And  then  in 
brief  he  told  me  some  of  his  life's 
story.  As  a  young  non -member  boy, 
when  he  became  twelve  years  of  age, 
he  attended  the  Mutual  Improvement 
Association.  He  was  getting  inter- 
ested in  the  Church  because  he  de- 
sired baptism,  but  first  solicited  his 
mother's  consent.  She,  being  a  mem- 
ber of  another  very  prominent 
church,  said,  "Son,  promise  me  that 
you  will  wait  until  you  are  nineteen 
years  of  age  before  you  join  the  Mor- 
mon Church." 

And  so  he  promised  her  as  a  duti- 
ful son,  and  those  seven  years  slipped 
by  pretty  fast,  and  he  had  not 
changed  his  mind.  He  had  become 
converted,  more  thoroughly  convinced 
that  it  was  the  Church  of  God  em- 
bodying the  full  plan  of  salvation. 
Then  he  said  to  his  mother,  "Now, 
Mother,  I  am  nineteen.  May  I  be 
baptized  into  the  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints?"  and 
she  gave  her  consent.  Then  through 
being  faithful  and  keeping  the  com- 
mandments and  not  being  ashamed 
of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  he  had 
been  recognized  by  inspiration,  and 
his  bishop  had  called  him  to  serve 
as  a  counselor  in  the  bishopric. 

Oh,  what  a  fine  missionary  activity 
as  well  as  a  program  for  keeping  our 
own  youth  of  Zion  with  their  feet 
firmly  planted  in  the  pathway  of 
righteousness! 

Well,  "faith,  hope,  charity  and  love, 
with  an  eye  single  to  the  glory  of 
God,  ..."  I  wonder  if  we  might 
review  a  few  thoughts  by  some 
prominent  individuals  on  these  four 
principles.  Hope:  "It  is  worth  a 
thousand  pounds  a  year  to  have  the 
habit  of  looking  on  the  bright  side  of 


things."  (Johnson.)  "Hope  is  like 
the  sun,  which  as  we  journey  toward 
it  casts  the  shadow  of  our  burden 
behind  us,"  and  we  know  as  leaders 
that  our  path  has  burdens  as  we  go 
forth  to  serve,  but  we  look  beyond 
that — we  look  to  the  light  of  the 
Savior,  and  our  shadows  with  those 
burdens  are  cast  behind  us.  "Before 
you  give  up  hope,  turn  back  and  read 
the  attacks  that  were  made  upon 
Lincoln."   (Bruce  Barton.) 

Every  good  act  is  charity.  Your 
smiling  in  your  brother's  face  is  char- 
ity. An  exhortation  of  your  fellow 
man  to  virtuous  deeds  is  equal  to 
almsgiving.  Your  putting  a  wanderer 
in  the  right  road  is  charity.  Your  re- 
moving stones  and  thorns  and  other 
obstructions  from  the  road  is  charity. 
Your  giving  water  to  the  thirsty  is 
charity.  A  man's  true  wealth  here- 
after is  the  good  he  does  in  this 
world  to  his  fellow  man.  When  he 
dies  people  will  say,  "What  property 
has  he  left  behind  him?"  But  the 
angels  will  ask,  "What  good  deeds 
has  he  sent  before  him?"  Love  looks 
through  a  telescope;  envy  through 
a  microscope.  "Love  sought  is  good, 
but  given  unsought  is  better."  (Shake- 
speare, Twelfth  Night,  Act  IILSc.  1.) 

The  cure  for  all  the  ills  and  wrongs, 
the  cares  and  sorrows,  and  the  crimes 
of  humanity  all  lie  in  that  one  word, 
love.  It  is  the  divine  vitality  that 
everywhere  produces  and  restores  life. 
To  every  one  of  us  it  gives  the  power 
of  working  miracles,  if  we  will. 

And  there  should  be  no  one  en- 
titled or  enabled  to  work  greater 
miracles  than  the  leadership  of  Mu- 
tual, for  you  fully  understand  the 
two  great  commandments  as  given  by 
the  Savior,  first  to  love  God,  and 
then  to  love  our  neighbor  as  our- 
selves. We  never  know  how  much 
one  loves  until  we  know  how  much 
he  is  willing  to  endure  and  suffer  for 
us,  and  it  is  the  suffering  element  that 
measures  love.  The  characters  that 
are  great  must  of  necessity  be  char- 
acters that  shall  be  willing,  patient, 
and  strong  to  endure  for  others.  "To 
hold  our  nature  in  the  willing  service 
of  another  is  the  divine  idea  of  man- 
hood and  of  the  human  character." 
(Henry  Ward  Beecher.) 

Now  we  have  the  characteristics 
which  have  been  enumerated  by  the 
Lord  to  the  Prophet  Joseph  Smith,  of 
virtue,  knowledge,  patience,  temper- 
ance,   brotherly    kindness,    godliness, 

(Continued  on  page  682) 
629 


Solomon  Mack 
and  His  Family 


PART   1 

by  Archibald  F.   Bennett 

SECRETARY,  GENEALOGICAL  SOCIETY 


Solomon  Mack  was  a  New  Eng- 
land frontiersman,  deserving  of 
honorable  remembrance.  He  was 
a  colonial  pioneer,  a  patriot  of  the 
Revolution,  and  the  patriarch  of  a 
notable  posterity. 

For  eighty-eight  eventful  years  he 
sought  right  manfully  to  do  his  part. 
He  fought  in  two  wars  for  family  and 
country  and  freedom.  He  carved  with 
his  ax  home  after  home  in  the  wilder- 
ness. He  helped  build  roads  and 
mills  and  dams  and  bridges.  He 
fought  and  traded  and  endured  ship- 
wreck on  the  open  seas.  All  of  this 
he  accomplished,  despite  a  succes- 
sion of  heart-breaking  adversities 
that  would  have  daunted  a  lesser 
soul.  Repeated  disasters  brought  to 
him  not  the  bitterness  of  defeat  but 
the  joy  of  an  awakened  faith.  In 
the  end  he  published  to  the  world  his 
testimony   of    the   goodness    of   God. 

But  his  greatest  contribution  to 
America  and  to  mankind  was  his 
family.  He  was  blessed  with  a  wife 
of  faith,  exceptionally  gifted  and  re- 
fined, and  of  a  worthy  lineage.  In 
their  eight  children  they  saw  their 
own  dominant  qualities  find  noble 
enlargement.  Their  eldest  son  gave 
his  life  to  the  ministry  and  to  deeds 
of  charity.  Their  second  son  was  a 
vigorous  colonizer,  a  military  leader, 
and  the  founder  of  a  great  city.  Two 
other  sons,  in  contrast,  remained  at 
home,  citizens  of  honor  and  repute 
in  their  own  communities.  Two 
daughters  grew  to  frail  maturity,  ex- 
amples of  faithful  and  loving  devo- 
tion, then  early  succumbed  to  disease, 
firm  in  the  hope  of  eternal  life.  A 
third  married  and  reared  a  family 
in  affluence,  yet  was  quick  to  share 
her  substance  with  the  poor,  and 
died  beloved  and  mourned  by  them. 
The  youngest  child  of  the  family  was 
Lucy  Mack  Smith,  mother  of  the  lat- 
ter-day Prophet. 

Solomon's  grandchildren  carried  the 
family  banner  to  new  heights.  Several 
grandsons  served  in  the  War  of 
1812.  Some  were  colonels  and  cap- 
630 


tains  of  militia.  One  served  in  the 
Michigan  state  legislature.  Another 
was  the  first  white  settler  of  Winne- 
bago County,  Illinois,  noted  as  a 
trader  among  the  Indians,  and  the 
husband  of  a  daughter  of  a  chief.  A 
granddaughter  of  Solomon  Mack 
became  the  wife  of  a  judge  and  sec- 
retary of  state  in  Michigan.  Still 
another  was  an  early  pioneer  to  Utah 
and  the  progenitor  of  many  well- 
known  families  among  us.  Two 
children  and  fourteen  grandchildren 
of  Solomon  Mack  were  baptized  into 
the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter- 
day  Saints,  among  them  Joseph  Smith, 
Jr.,  its  Prophet  and  founder,  and  his 
brother  Hyrum  Smith,  patriarch  to 
the  Church  and  a  member  of  the 
First  Presidency. 

John  Mack,  grandfather  of  Solomon, 
was  born  in  Scotland,  March  6, 
1653,  and  emigrated  to  America  in 
1669,  settling  first  at  Salisbury,  Massa- 
chusetts. There  he  married,  April  5, 
1681,    Sarah    Bagley,    of   well-estab- 


THE  REGION  Of 

aatBM<maa*gi 

fram  aar.rji  Mlaa  In 
1762 


lished  families.  Later  this  couple 
moved  to  Lyme,  Connecticut.  Of 
their  twelve  children  the  eighth  was 
Ebenezer  Mack,  born  at  Lyme,  De- 
cember 8,  1697.  He  married  Hannah 
Huntley,  at  Lyme,  April  30,  1728, 
and  to  them  were  born  nine  children. 
Solomon  Mack  was  their  eldest  son 
and  third  child. 

In  the  vital  records  of  Lyme, 
Conn.,  are  these  entries: 

Ebenezer  Mack  (s.  John  &  Sarah) 
b.  Dec.  8,  1697.  (Vol.  L-2,  p.  166.) 

Ebenezer  Mack  m.  Hannah  Hunt- 
ley, both  of  Lyme,  Apr.  30,  1728,  by 
Rev.  George  Griswold.  (Vol.  1,  p.  35.) 


Their  children: 

Phebe, 

b.  Jan.  20,  1728/9. 

Deborah, 

b.  Sep.  16,  1730. 

SOLOMON, 

b.  Sep.  15,   1732. 

Hannah, 

b.  Oct.  15,  1734. 

Samuel, 

b.  Nov.    15,    1736. 

Hepzibah, 

b.  May  7,   1740. 

Stephen, 

b.  June  15,   1742. 

Elisha, 

b.  July  16,  1745. 

Azubah, 

b.  Nov.  28,  1748. 

(Vol.  1,  p.  35.) 

Site  of  the  ambush  and  battle  at  Fort 
Anne  in  1758,  where  Solomon  Mack  narrow- 
ly escaped. 


Of  the  birthplace  of  Solomon  Mack 
one  author  has  written: 

Charming  old  Lyme,  mother  of  lawyers, 
judges,  statesmen,  diplomats,  and  multi-mil- 
lionaire financiers;  separated  from  Saybrook 
only  by  the  width  of  the  Connecticut  River, 
but  how  differently  situated!  On  higher 
and  more  fertile  soil;  shut  in  from  the 
storms  of  the  north  and  the  piercing  winds 
of  the  east;  exposed  only  on  the  south-west 
(that  mysterious  quarter  in  which  the  In- 
dians placed  their  "happy  hunting  grounds," 
because  only  from  heaven  could  come  the 
sweet,  life-giving  southwest  breeze)  and 
settled  by  men  and  women  of  gentle  birth 
who,  with  their  descendants,  have  helped 
to  make  America  notable  in  the  world! 
Never  disturbed  by  the  noise  and  turmoil 
of  factories  ...  it  remains  an  old-fashioned 
gem  in   an  old-fashioned   setting. 

It  is,  perhaps,  the  only  river  town  in  the 
State  of  Connecticut,  that  has  remained  a 
place  of  residence,  where  mental  wealth 
and  breeding  are  more  highly  regarded 
than  dollars  and  cents.  Its  only  occupa- 
tion in  the  old  days  was  the  building  and 
sailing  of  ships  to  the  great  markets  of  the 
world.  An  occupation  at  once  dignified  and 
broadening.1 

iGeorge    S.    Roberts:     Historic    Towns    of    the    Con- 
necticut  River   Valley,    p.   57. 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


Solomon's  parents,  Ebenezer  and 
Hannah  Mack,  appear  to  have  been 
enterprising  and  prosperous.  On  16 
April  1729  "Ebenezer  Mack  of  Lyme" 
paid  30  pounds  to  his  older  brother 
Jonathan  Mack  for  six  acres  near  the 
dwelling  house  of  Jonathan,  which 
land  "my  honored  Father  Mr.  John 
Mack  late  of  Lyme  Deceased  Gave  to 
ye  sd  Jonathan  Mack."2  On  March 
14,  1730  he  paid  forty  pounds  to  his 
wife's  uncle,  Lewis  De  Wolf,  for  30 
acres  in  the  Township  of  Lyme,  ad- 
joining Norwich  Pond.3  June  1730 
was  a  busy  month  for  Ebenezer.  First 
he  paid  Joseph  Sill  250  pounds  for  70 
acres  "Lying  at  a  place  commonly 
called  four  mile  River."  On  the  same 
day  he  sold  to  Joseph  Sill  for  300 
pounds  29  acres  "together  with  my 
Dwelling  House  Standing  on  sd 
Land."4  On  June  25,  1730  he  sold 
30  acres  for  30  pounds  to  "Aaron 
Huntly  juner  of  Lyme  afore  sd  being 
my  honoured  Father  in  Law."  On 
Jan.  2,  1730-31  he  sold  another  30 
acres  to  his  father-in-law  for  60 
pounds.5 

Less  than  two  years  before  the  birth 
of  Solomon,  Ebenezer,  his  father  to  be, 
deeded  land  to  his  children,  in  which 
the  then  unborn  child  was  to  share. 

A  deed  of  gift  from  Ebenezer  Mack  to  his 
children.  Ebenezer  Mack  of  Lyme  for  divers 
good  causes  more  especially  for  the  Love 
and  affection  that  I  bare  to  my  Children 
Phebey  Mack  and  Deborah  Mack  and  the 
Rest  of  the  heirs  of  my  body  Lawfully  be- 
gote  or  may  be  begotten  of  my  Body,  all 
that  Tract  of  Land  Lying  in  Lyme  afore- 
said it  being  butted  and  bounded  as  follow- 
eth  .  .  .  along  Aaron  Huntley's  Land  .  .  . 
across  four-mile  River  .  .  .  near  the  great 
Hill  southwestward  by  ye  great  Hill  along 
John  Lewis's  Land  ...  by  ye  highway  .  .  . 
60  acres.  I  give  the  said  Tract  of  Land  as 
in  manner  aforesd  .  .  .  and  I  the  said  Ebene- 
zer Mack  Do  Avouch  myself  the  Lawfull 
owner  of  the  sd  granted  premises  and  have 
in  myself  power  to  dispose  of  the  same  in 
manner  aforesd  ...  it  is  to  be  understood 
that  ye  said  Ebenezer  Mack  Doth  Reserve 
to  him  self  the  use  and  Improvement  of  sd 
land  during  his  life.  16  Dec.  1730. 

(signed)    Ebenezer   Mack." 

The  land  here  described  is  un- 
doubtedly that  on  which  Solomon 
Mack  was  born. 

Fortunate  we  are  to  have  a  brief 
autobiography  printed  in  his  lifetime 
by  Solomon  Mack.  Of  his  unhappy 
childhood  experiences,  he  wrote: 

My  parents  had  a  large  property,  and  lived 
in  good  style;  from  various  misfortunes,  and 
the  more  complicated  evils  attendant  on  the 


2Lyme  Deeds,   Vol.   5,   p.    112. 

sIbid.,  Vol.  4,  p.  63. 

♦/lii,  Vol.  4,   pp.   365,   367. 

BIbid.,  Vol.  4,   p.   368;  Vol.  5,  p.  5. 

"Ibid.,  Vol.  5,   p.  5. 

SEPTEMBER  1955 


Scene  of  the  battle  before  Ticonderoga  in 
1758  in  which  Solomon  Mack  participated. 


depravity  of  the  sons  of  men,  my  parents 
became  poor,  and  when  I  was  four  years 
old,  the  family,  then  consisting  of  five  chil- 
dren, were  obliged  to  disperse  and  throw 
themselves  upon  the  mercy  of  an  unfeeling 
and  evil  world.  I  was  bound  out  to  a  farmer 
in  the  neighborhood.  As  is  too  commonly 
the  case,  I  was  rather  considered  as  a  slave 
than  a  member  of  the  family,  and,  instead 
of  allowing  me  the  privilege  of  common 
hospitality,  and  a  claim  to  that  kind  pro- 
tection due  to  the  helpless  and  indigent 
children,  I  was  treated  by  my  master  as 
his  property  and  not  as  his  fellow  mortal; 
he  taught  me  to  work,  and  was  very  care- 
ful that  I  should  have  little  or  no  rest 
from  labour.  He  never  taught  me  to  read 
or  spoke  to  me  at  all  on  the  subject  of  re- 
ligion. His  whole  attention  was  taken 
up  on  the  pursuits  of  the  good  things  of 
this  world;  wealth  was  his  supreme  object. 
I  am  afraid  gold  was  his  God,  or  rather  he 
never  conversed  on  any  other  subject,  and 
I  must  say  he  lived  without  God  in  the 
world,  and  to  all  appearance  God  was  not 
in  his  thoughts. 

I  lived  with  this  man  (whose  name,  for 
many  reasons,  I  did  not  think  proper  to 
mention)  until  I  was  21  years  of  age  lack- 
ing 2  months,  when  a  difficulty  took  place 
between  me  and  my  master,  which  termi- 
nated in  our  separation  at  that  time.  I, 
however,  at  his  request  returned  and  ful- 
filed  [sic]  the  indenture;  which  in  conse- 
quence of  being  frequently  abused,  I  had 
found  my  indentures  in  my  masters  custody, 
and  I  burnt  them.  My  mistress  was  afraid 
of  my  commencing  a  suit  against  them,  she 
took  me  aside  and  told  me  I  was  such  a 
fool  we  could  not  learn  you.  I  was  totally 
ignorant  of  Divine  Revelation;  or  any  thing 
appertaining  to  the  christian  religion.  I 
was  never  taught  even  the  principles  of 
common  morality,  and  felt  no  obligation 
with  regard  to  society.  ...  I  met  with  many 
sore  accidents  during  the  years  of  my 
minority. 

I  had  a  terrible  fever  sore  on  my  leg, 
which  had  well   nigh   proved   fatal   to   my 


life,  which  it  seems  was  occasioned  by  u 
scald  that  terminated  in  a  severe  fit  of 
sickness.  In  these  trials  my  master  was 
very  kind  to  me,  he  procured  the  best 
physicians  &  surgeons,  and  provided  every 
thing  necessary  for  my  comfort,  all  which, 
as  I  suppose  that  he  might  again  reap  the 
benefit  of  my  labour,  for  although  it  was 
thought  for  a  time  that  I  could  not  live; 
yet  my  master  never  spoke  to  me  of  death, 
judgment  or  eternity,  nor  did  he  ever  to 
my  recollection  discover  that  he  himself 
had  any  idea  that  he  was  made  to  die.  .  .  . 
Soon  after  I  left  my  master,  I  enlisted  in 
the  service  of  my  country,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Capt.  Henry,  and  was  annexed  to 
a  regiment  commanded  by  Col.  Whiting. 
I  marched  from  Connecticut  to  Fort  Ed- 
wards; there  was  a  severe  battle  fought  at 
the  half  way  brook,  in  the  year  1755.7 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  at  the  time  of 
his  enlistment  Solomon  Mack  was 
twenty-three  years  of  age.  He  always 
stated  he  was  born  in  1735.  It  may 
be  that  the  unkind  master  to  whom 
he  was  apprenticed  purposely  con- 
cealed the  boy's  true  age,  in  order  to 
prolong  the  period  of  required  service. 

One  thousand  Connecticut  volun- 
teers had  joined  the  Colonial  army 
under  the  command  of  General  (later 
Sir)  William  Johnson  for  the  attack 
on  the  French  fort  at  Crown  Point, 
on  Lake  Ghamplain.  Indian  scouts 
sent  by  Johnson  to  Canada  returned 
with  word  that  the  French  were  as- 
sembling eight  thousand  men  to  de- 
fend that  outpost.  In  a  council  of 
war,  August  22,  1755,  it  was  decided 
that  Johnson  should  send  to  the 
colonies  for  reinforcements.  Before 
these  could  be  enlisted  and  sent  to 
join  the  troops  already  in  the  field  a 
"severe  battle"  was  fought  on  Sept. 
8th,  near  the  southern  end  of  Lake 
George.  In  a  morning  engagement 
the  French  ambushed  a  strong  party 
of  the  colonial  force,  and  scored  a 
success.  Johnson's  main  force  pre- 
pared for  defense. 

Five  hundred  men  were  detailed  to  guard 
the  flanks  of  the  camp.  The  rest  stood 
behind  the  wagons  or  lay  flat  behind  the 
logs  and  inverted  bateaux,  the  Massachusetts 
men  on  the  right,  and  the  Connecticut  men 
on  the  left.  Besides  Indians,  this  actual 
fighting  force  was  between  sixteen  and 
seventeen  hundred  rustics,  very  few  of  whom 
had  ever  been  under  fire  before  that  morn- 
ing. They  were  hardly  at  their  posts  when 
they  saw  ranks  of  white-coated  soldiers 
moving  down  the  road,  and  bayonets  that 
to  them  seemed  innumerable  glittering  be- 
tween the  boughs.  At  the  same  time  a 
terrific  burst  of  war-whoops  rose  along  the 
front;  and,  in  the  words  of  Pomeroy,  "the 
Canadians  and  Indians,  helter-skelter,  the 
woods  full  of  them,  came  running  with 
undaunted  courage  right  down  the  hill  upon 
us,  expecting  to  make  us  flee."  *  *  * 

(Continued  on  following  page) 

7A  Narrative  ef  the  Life  of  Solomon  Mack,   pp.  3-5. 

631 


Solomon  Mack  and  his  Family 

(Continued  from  preceding  page) 

The  regulars  advanced  with  intrepidity 
towards  the  camp  where  the  trees  were  thin, 
deployed,  and  fired  by  platoons,  till  Captain 
Eyre,  who  commanded  the  artillery,  opened 
on  them  with  grape,  broke  their  ranks,  and 
compelled  them  to  take  cover.  The  fusil- 
lade was  now  general  on  both  sides,  and 
soon  grew  furious.  .  .  .  "It  was  the  most 
awful  day  my  eyes  ever  beheld,"  wrote 
Surgeon  Williams  to  his  wife;  "there  seemed 
to  be  nothing  but  thunder  and  lightning 
and  perpetual  pillars  of  smoke."  .  .  . 

It  was  too  late.  Johnson's  men,  singly  or 
in  small  squads,  were  already  crossing  their 
row  of  logs;  and  in  a  few  moments  the 
whole  dashed  forward  with  a  shout,  falling 
upon  the  enemy  with  hatchets  and  the 
butts  of  their  guns.  The  French  and  their 
allies  fled.8 

The  captured  French  commander, 
Dieskau,  had  high  praise  for  the  con- 
duct of  the  untrained  colonial  troops. 

Of  the  provincial  soldiers  he  remarked 
soon  after  the  battle  that  in  the  morning 
they  fought  like  good  boys,  about  noon  like 
men,    and    in    the    afternoon    like    devils.0 

The  English  loss  in  killed,  wounded, 
and  missing  was  262  and  that  of  the 
French  by  their  own  account,  228. 

It  was  exactly  two  days  after  this 
fight  that  Solomon  Mack  enlisted  in 
Connecticut.  "A  Muster  Role  of  Cap 
James  Harris  Company  the  Time  of 
Enlistment  and  Discharge"  includes 
the  name  of  "Solomon  Mack,  Time  of 
Enlisting  Sep.  10;  Discharged  Nov. 
24  "io  j-[e  immediately  reenlisted. 
"A  Roole  of  Cap*  Israel  Putnames 
Company  in  Garrison  att  Fort  Ed- 
ward December  ye  5th  1755"  names 
among  those  there  "Solomon  Mack, 
Time  of  Enlisting  Nov.  24;  Dis- 
charged May  29."11 

As  stated  in  his  Narrative  he 
marched  from  Connecticut  to  Fort 
Edward,  fourteen  miles  south  of  where 
the  battle  had  just  been  fought.  As 
the  reinforcements  began  to  come  in, 
they  found  themselves  among  troops 
that  were  ill-clothed,  ill-fed,  discon- 
tented, insubordinate,  and  sickly; 
".  .  .  most  of  them  wore  summer 
clothing  and  had  but  one  thin  domes- 
tic blanket,  they  were  half  frozen  in 
the  chill  autumn  nights."12  The  ex- 
pected follow-up  attack  on  the  de- 
feated French  did  not   materialize. 

Yet  the  army  lay  more  than  a  month 
longer  at  the  lake,  while  the  disgust  of  the 

8Francis  Parkman:  Montcalm  and  Wolfe,  Vol.  I, 
pp.  316-319. 

9lbid.,   p.   321. 

^French-Indian  War  Rolls,  1755-1757,  Vol.  I,  p.  44. 
(Pub.  by  The  Connecticut  Historical  Society,  Collec- 
tions,  Vol.   IX.) 

^Ibid.,  p.   79. 

632 


men  increased  daily  under  the  rains,  frosts, 
and  snows  of  a  dreary  November.  On  the 
twenty-second,  Chandler,  chaplain  of  one 
of  the  Massachusetts  regiments,  wrote  in  the 
interleaved  almanac  that  served  him  as  a 
diary:  "The  men  just  ready  to  mutiny.  Some 
clubbed  their  firelocks  and  marched,  but 
returned  back.  Very  rainy  night.  Miry 
water  standing  in  the  tents.  Very  distress- 
ing time  among  the  sick."  The  men  grew 
more  and  more  unruly,  and  went  off  in 
squads  without  asking  leave.  A  difficult 
question  arose:  Who  should  stay  for  the 
winter  to  garrison  the  new  forts,  and  who 
should  command  them?  It  was  decided 
that  a  certain  number  of  soldiers  from 
each  province  should  be  assigned  to  this 
ungrateful  service.  .  .  .  The  soldiers  dis- 
persed to  their  villages  and  farms,  where 
in  blustering  winter  nights,  by  the  blazing 
logs  of  New  England  hearthstones,  they 
told  their  friends  and  neighbors  the  story 
of  the  campaign.12 

It  speaks  well  for  the  caliber  of 
Solomon  Mack  that  he  was  among 
those  who  reenlisted,  under  these  dis- 
tressing conditions,  for  winter  service. 
His  new  captain  was  Israel  Putnam, 
later  of  Revolutionary  War  fame.  His 
lieutenant  colonel  was  Nathan  Whit- 
ing. Their  activities  are  well  de- 
scribed by  the  great  historian,  Park- 
man: 

Month  after  month  the  great  continent 
lay  wrapped  in  snow.  Far  along  the  edge 
of  the  western  wilderness  men  kept  watch 
and  ward  in  lonely  blockhouses,  or  scoured 
the  forest  on  the  track  of  prowling  war- 
parties.  The  provincials  in  garrison  at  Forts 
Edward,  William  Henry,  and  Oswego 
dragged  out  the  dreary  winter;  while  bands 
of  New  England  rangers,  muffled  against 
the  piercing  cold,  caps  of  fur  on  their  heads, 
hatchets  in  their  belts,  and  guns  in  their 
mittened  hands,  glided  on  skates  along  the 
gleaming  ice-floor  of  Lake  George,  to  spy 
out  the  secrets  of  Ticonderoga,  or  seize  some 
careless  sentry  to  tell  them  tidings  of  the 
foe.18 

This  gives  us  the  setting  for  Solo- 
mon Mack's  brief  words  on  that  win- 
ter  campaign    and   his    part   in    it. 

I  had  been  out  on  a  long  scout,  and  I 
caught  a  bad  cold  and  was  taken  sick,  and 
remained  so  all  the  rest  of  the  winter,  and 
in  the  spring  1756,  I  was  carried  to  Albany 
in  a  wagon,  where  I  saw  5  men  hung  at 
one  time.  I  remained  sick  the  biggest  part 
of  the   summer.14 

His  enlistment  expired  while  his  ill- 
ness was  still  upon  him,  and  he  was 
discharged  on  May  29.  "I  went  to 
Lime,"  he  wrote,  "and  purchased  a 
farm." 

There  is  recorded  at  Lyme,  Conn., 
a  deed  from  Nicodemus  Miller  of 
Lyme  to  Solomon  Mack  of  sd  Lyme 
for  "Eighty  Pounds  of  Lawfull  money 

"Parkman,    op.    cit.,    Vol.    I,    pp.   325-327. 
™Ibid.,   Vol.   II,    p.    36. 


to  me  in  hand  payed  by  Solomon 
Mack  .  .  .  one  Certain  Tract  of  Land 
and  a  Mansion  House  thereon,  in  the 
Township  of  Lyme  aforesaid."  This 
deed  was  dated  October  18,    1756.14 

In  the  year  1757,  I  mustered  two  teams 
in  the  King's  service  for  one  season.  I  then 
went  to  Stillwater  with  the  General's  bag- 
gage. One  morning  I  went  out  to  yoke  up  as 
usual,  and  found  there  were  three  of  my 
oxen  missing,  the  officer  was  so  angry  that 
he  drew  his  sword  to  run  me  through;  but 
immediately  exclaimed,  get  thee  out  three 
of  any  you  can  find;  which  I  accordingly 
did.  Then  I  went  on  with  the  baggage 
and  arrived  at  Fort  Edward,  then  I  re- 
turned back  after  my  oxen;  when  I  got 
about  half  way  I  espied  at  about  thirty 
rods  distance,  four  Indians  coming  out  of 
the  woods  with  their  tomma-hawks,  scalp- 
ing-knives  and  guns.  I  was  alone,  but 
about  twenty  rods  behind  me  there  was 
a  man  by  the  name  of  Webster.  I  saw  no 
other  way  to  save  myself  only  to  deceive 
them  by  stratagem — I  exclaimed  like  this — 
Rush  on!  rush  on!  Brave  Boys,  we'll  have 
the  Devils!  we'll  have  the  Devils!  I  had 
no  other  weapon  only  a  staff;  but  I  ran 
towards  them  and  the  other  man  appearing 
in  sight,  gave  them  a  terrible  fright,  and  I 
saw  them  no  more,  but  I  am  bound  to  say 
the  grass  did  not  grow  under  my  feet. 

I  hastened  to  Stillwater  and  found  my 
oxen;  the  same  night  I  returned  back 
through  the  woods  alone;  which  was  about 
seven  miles,  the  next  morning  I  was  ready 
to  go  on  my  journey  again.  From  thence 
I  went  to  Lake  George.  I  followed  teaming 
the  remainder  of  the  season,  but  by  accident 
I  was  taken  with  small  pox  at  Albany.  I 
entrusted  a  man  to  convey  my  teams  to 
Litchfield,  and  gave  him  15  dollars  for  his 
services.  But  instead  of  doing  as  he  agreed, 
he  went  twenty  miles  &  sold  one  team, 
then  went  a  short  distance  and  left  the 
other.  But  after  I  regained  my  health 
I  went  and  bought  them  again  and  returned 
to  Lime. 

Soon  after  I  enlisted  under  Major  Spencer, 
in  1758,  and  went  over  the  Lakes.15 

Solomon  Mack  enlisted  June  5, 
1758  for  the  campaign  of  1758  in 
the  Second  Regiment,  Third  Com- 
pany, under  Major  Joseph  Spencer  of 
East  Haddam.  He  was  discharged 
November  18,  1758.10  In  this  brief 
period  he  took  part  in  stirring  events. 

In  June  the  combined  British  and  provin- 
cial force  which  Abercrombie  (the  British 
General)  was  to  lead  against  Ticonderoga 
was  gathered  at  the  head  of  Lake  George; 
while  Montcalm  lay  at  its  outlet  around 
the  walls  of  the  French  stronghold  (Ticon- 
deroga), with  an  army  not  one-fourth  so 
numerous.  .  .  . 

Here,  on  the  ground  where  Johnson  had 
beaten  Dieskau,  where  Montcalm  had 
planted  his  batteries,  and  Monro  vainly 
defended  the  wooden  ramparts  of  Fort  Wil- 

(Continued  on  page  663) 

14Lyme   Deeds,  Vol.   9,   p.   505. 
1BA  Narrative   of  Solomon   Mack,    pp.    6-7. 
^French-Indian  War   Rolls,  Vol.   II,  p.  35;  in  Conn. 
Hist.   Soc.    Coll.,   Vol.    X. 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


Steffie's 


eau 


tu  Secret 


by  Lot 


ainc 


Lusk 


Steffie  and  her  little  sister,  Darlene, 
were  playing  school  in  their  front 
yard.     They  had   all   their   dolls 
lined  up  in  rows. 

"Let  me  be  the  teacher,"  Darlene 
begged,  jumping  up  and  down. 

"No,"  Steffie  said.  "I'll  be  the 
teacher.  I'm  the  older.  You  don't 
even  go  to  school  yet." 

Darlene  started  to  pout.  She  had 
big  blue  eyes,  and  her  hair  was  golden 
and  curly.  She  had  beautiful  dim- 
ples, too,  like  her  mother.  Every- 
body said  that  Steffie  looked  like 
daddy. 

Two  women  came  out  of  the  front 
door.  They  were  Mother's  friends. 
They  stopped  and  stared  at  Darlene 
the  way  everybody  stares  at  her. 
"What  a  beautiful  child!"  they  said. 

Twinks,  the  brown  cocker  spaniel 
barked  at  them  as  they  closed  the 
gate.  Steffie  ran  over  and  picked 
him  up.  "Stop  it,  Twinks,"  she 
scolded.  "It's  not  polite  to  bark  at 
guests." 

From  the  other  side  of  the  big,  high 
fence,  Steffie  heard  one  of  the  women 
say,  "The  older  child  is  very  odd- 
looking,  isn't  she?" 

Steffie  felt  like  crying.  But  Mother 
had  taught  her  not  to  be  a  cry  baby. 
If  you  cry  over  every  little  thing,  it's 
just  like  not  doing  your  own  arithme- 
tic problems.  You'll  grow  up  not 
knowing  the  right  answers. 

Just  then  Mother  called  from  the 
doorway,  "Come  in  now,  Darlene.  It's 
time  for  your  nap." 

Steffie  sat  on  the  porch,  feeling  very 
sad.  Did  the  women  say  she  was 
"odd-looking"  just  because  she  had 
a  squashy  nose  and  freckles  and 
wasn't  beautiful  like  Darlene? 

Peter,  the  boy  next  door,  stuck  his 
head  over  the  fence.  He  threw  a 
paper  airplane  into  the  yard.  "I'm 
building  a  secret  rocket  ship,"  he  said. 
"But  I'll  let  you  come  over  and  help 
me." 

"I  don't  feel  like  it,  Peter,"  Steffie 
said.  She  picked  up  her  doll  and 
went  into  the  house. 

Mother  was  dusting  the  book- 
shelves. "Here,  Steffie,"  she  said, 
SEPTEMBER  1955 


handing  her  a  dustcloth.  "You  can 
help  me." 

Steffie  dusted  a  book,  slowly. 
"Mother,"  she  said.  "Do  you  think 
I'm  odd-looking?" 

Mother  looked  up  quickly.  She 
laid  down  her  dustcloth  and  put  her 
arms  around  Steffie.  "Why,  no, 
darling,"  she  said.  "Daddy  and  I 
think  you're  beautiful." 

"Oh,  Mother,"  Steffie  sighed.  "If 
I  could  only  be  beautiful  like  Darlene 
and  the  girls  in  my  picture  books." 

Mother  looked  out  of  the  window 
for  a  long  time.  Then  she  said, 
"Bring  me  your  picture  books,  dear. 
Then  get  me  a  pencil  from  the  desk." 

Steffie  brought  Mother  the  book  and 
pencil.  Mother  turned  to  the  picture 
of  the  girl  on  the  first  page.  She 
drew  a  cross  look  on  her  face.  "Why 
Mother,  she's  ugly  now!"  Steffie 
said.    "Why  did  you  make  her  ugly?" 

"Because  I  want  to  teach  you  a 
beauty  secret,  Steffie,"  Mother  said. 


Steffie  clapped  her  hands.  "Now 
I'll  have  a  secret  like  Peter." 

Mother  said.  "You  see  how  you 
can  make  a  beautiful  girl  ugly  by 
putting  a  cross  look  on  her  face?  Now 
come  with  me  to  the  mirror."  She 
took  Steffie's  hand  and  lead  her  over 
to  the  big  mirror  in  the  front  room. 

"Look  into  the  mirror  and  smile," 
Mother  said.  "And  here's  a  little 
poem  to  help  you  remember  that  you 
must  have  a  smile  in  your  heart,  too. 
Recite  it  with  me,  Steffie." 

Slowly,  Steffie  repeated: 

"A  smile  in  my  heart 
A  smile  on  my  face 
Helps  make  the  world 
A  beautiful  place." 

Steffie  stared  at  herself  in  the  mir- 
ror. "Oh,  Mother,"  she  said.  "I 
don't  need  golden  hair  and  big  eyes 
to  be  beautiful,  do  I?" 

(Continued  on  page  660) 
633 


Sc 


cievice 


(l^cli 


tit 


vicaiion 


IN  UTAH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


•.  *. ■ 

'Mr 


by  Wayne  B.  Hales,  Ph.D. 

BRIGHAM  YOUNG  UNIVERSITY 


Luoma  Photo 


here  does  the  American  scientist 
fi/i/  come  from?  Are  there  any  greater 
number  of  scientists  who  are  born  and 
receive  their  primary  education  in  any 
j»iven  geographic  area?  Have  a  great 
dumber  a  common  background?  These 
questions  have  been  asked  by  re- 
searchers and  by  thinking  men  for 
ears.  And  while  conclusive  answers 
are  reserved  by  the  future,  some  very 
interesting  studies  have  been  made: 

A  study  entitled,  "Origin  of  U.S. 
Scientists"  by  Herbert  B.  Goodrich, 
Robert  H.  Knapp,  and  George  A.  W. 
Boehm,  appeared  in  the  Scientific 
American  July  1951.  This  article  de- 
tails a  study  in  which  the  number  of 


male  graduates  of  American  institu- 
tions of  high  learning  between  1924 
and  1934  continued  to  a  doctoral  level 
and  were  listed  ten  years  later  (1944) 
in  the  seventh  edition  of  American 
Men  of  Science.  Of  the  top  fifty  in- 
stitutions listed,  Utah  State  Agricul- 
tural College  stood  at  the  midpoint 
as  twenty-fifth  with  33.4  each  thou- 
sand, and  Brigham  Young  University, 
thirty-second  in  the  list  with  30.4  each 
thousand.  Reed  College,  Portland, 
headed  the  list  with  131.8  a  thousand. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  only 
four  widely-known  universities  appear 
in  the  list  and  that  the  vast  majority 
are  small  liberal  arts  colleges,  most  of 


— Photos  Courtesy  Brigham  Young  University 

Physical  Science  Building,  Brigham  Young  University,  Provo,  Utah,  Wasatch  Moun- 
tains in  background. 

634 


them  of  obscure  standing.  These 
four,  with  their  rank  and  production 
index,  number  for  each  thousand  are: 

2.  California  Institute  of  Technology 

70.1  for  each  1000 
16.  University  of  Chicago 

39.9  for  each  1000 
19.  Johns  Hopkins 

37.3  for  each  1000 
45.  University  of  Wisconsin 

26.2  for  each  1000 

Other  studies  in  more  specific  fields 
of  science  have  been  made  and  pub- 
lished in  national  science  journals.  I 
refer  to  one  by  M.  H.  Trythen  of  the 
Office  of  Scientific  Personnel,  Na- 
tional Research  Council,  Washington, 
D.C.,  entitled,  "The  Undergraduate 
Origin  of  Physics  Ph.D's  1936-45" 
published  in  the  Journal,  American 
Physics  Teacher,  1946.  This  is  a 
study  of  the  undergraduate  prepara- 
tion of  1266  doctorates  of  whom  1160 
took  their  bachelor's  degrees  in  physics 
from  306  colleges  and  universities  in 
the  United  States  and  later  received 
their  Ph.D.  degree  in  physics.  Of  the 
top  twenty-five  universities  listed  in 
this  study  for  the  years  1936-45, 
Brigham  Young  University  appears 
twentieth  in  the  list,  between  Prince- 
ton University  and  the  University  of 
California  at  Los  Angeles.  The  Uni- 
versity of  California  (Berkeley)  was 
first  with  thirty-five,  Brigham  Young 
University  was  twentieth  with  9.6  and 
Cincinnati,  twenty-fifth  with  six. 

In  a  paper  by  Dean  Bernard  C. 
Murdock  of  Muskingum  College.  New 
Concord,  Ohio,  and  Professor  Marsh 
W.  White  of  Pennsylvania  State  Col- 
lege, entitled  "Place  of  Birth  and 
Training  of  Physicists,"  published  in 
Physics  Today,  December  1950,  a 
THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


study  was  made  of  the  birthplaces  and 
training  of  1700  recipients  of  the 
Ph.D.  granted  in  physics  according 
to  their  birthplaces  in  the  nine  census 
divisions  of  the  United  States.  The 
Mountain  States  Division  led  the  na- 
tion with  29.9  for  each  million  of 
1910  population.  The  Pacific  States 
Division  came  second  with  21.1  for 
each  million. 

Dr.  A.  G.  Oblad,  Director  of 
Chemical  Research  of  Howdry  Proc- 
ess Corporation  of  Marcus  Hook, 
Pennsylvania,  a  chemist  of  high  stand- 
ing in  the  United  States,  worked  over 
this  data  by  states  and  determined  the 
number  of  physicists  produced  in  this 
period  for  each  million  population. 
According  to  his  calculations,  Utah 
stands  first  with  45.13  for  each  mil- 
lion, with  Washington,  D.C.,  second 
with  24.13  for  each  million,  and  Mon- 
tana third  with  23.23  for  each  million. 
The  average  of  the  states  is  9.64  for 
each  million. 

Dr.  Oblad  wrote  to  the  authors  and 
asked  them  for  an  explanation  of  this 
great  spread  between  Utah  and  the 
next  closest  competitor.  Professor 
White  answered  Dr.  Oblad  as  follows: 

It  has  long  been  known  that  Utah  has 
produced  an  unusually  large  number  of 
physicists  per  unit  of  population.  I  believe 
that  this  situation  can  be  traced  directly 
to  a  few  specific  causes.  A  major  one  is  the 
fact  that  physics  established  an  early  and 
strange  beginning  in  this  state  as  a  result 
of  the  activities  and  energy  of  Dr.  Harvey 
Fletcher.  Under  his  leadership  several  out- 
standing physicists  were  trained,  among 
them  Vern  O.  Knudsen,  Carl  F.  Eyring,  and 
A.  Ray  Olpin.  Apparently  unusual  support 
was  given  to  training  in  physics  by  Utah 
colleges  and  universities. 

The  work  and  inspiration  initiated 
by  Dr.  Harvey  Fletcher  is  further  in- 
dicated by  the  group  of  physicists  in 
Figure  II.  Of  these,  Vern  O.  Knud- 
sen, Carl  F.  Eyring,  Milton  Marshall, 
A.  Ray  Olpin,  and  Wayne  B.  Hales, 
all  Ph.D.'s  in  physics,  were  students 
of  Harvey  Fletcher  while  he  was  pro- 
fessor of  physics  at  Brigham  Young 
University  during  the  years  1911- 
1916.  Of  the  others  in  this  figure,  six 
have  since  received  Ph.D.'s,  four 
M.S.'s  and  four  B.S.  degrees.  At  the 
present  time,  they  are  all  holding  lead- 
ing positions  in  universities,  govern- 
ment scientific  bureaus,  and  industrial 
research  laboratories.  During  the 
twenty-year  period  from  1933-1953, 
one  hundred  twenty  have  taken  a 
bachelor's  degree,  and  twenty-five  a 
master's  degree  in  physics  at  Brigham 
Young  University.  Of  these,  eighteen 
SEPTEMBER  1955 


A  group  of  Brigham  Young  University  Physicists,  Alumni,  Staff,  and  Students,   1938. 

Front  row,  left  to  right:  McKay  Alfred,  B.S.,  Bureau  of  Standards;  J.  Vern  Hales,  Ph.D., 
chairman,  dept.  of  meteorology,  University  of  Utah;  George  A.  Jarvis,  Ph.D.,  Atomic  Re- 
search, Los  Alamos,  New  Mexico;  Roland  Perry,  Ph.D.,  chairman,  dept.  of  physics,  Utah 
State  Agricultural  College. 

Second  row,  left  to  right:  E.  John  Eastmond,  Ph.D.,  assistant  professor  of  physics, 
Brigham  Young  University;  Wayne  B.  Hales,  Ph.D.,  professor  of  physics,  Brigham  Young 
University;  Harvey  Fletcher,  Ph.D.,  research  director,  Bell  Laboratory,  now  of  BYU  fac- 
ulty; Vern  O.  Knudsen,  Ph.D.,  dean  of  graduate  school,  U.C.L.A.;  Carl  F.  Eyring,  Ph.D. 
(deceased).  Chairman,  Physics  Dept.  1924-1950,  Brigham  Young  University;  James  McGuire, 
B.S.  USAF. 

Back  row,  left  to  right:  Reed  Biddulph,  B.S.,  graduate  student  in  photography;  Henry 
Nicholes,  Ph.D.,  assistant  professor,  Brigham  Young  University;  Arlo  Richardson,  M.S.  and 
R.  Clark  Neilson,  B.S.,  forecasters,  US  Weather  Bureau;  Waldo  Hodson,  M.S.,  Research 
Laboratories;  Reid  Gardner,  B.S.  and  Lewis  Ludlow,  B.S.,  forecasters,  US  Weather  Bureau; 
Maurice  B.  Hall,  Ph.D.,  research  staff,  Dupont  Laboratories. 


have  been  granted  Ph.D.  degrees  in 
physics  and  thirteen  others  are  candi- 
dates for  this  high  degree  at  the  pres- 
ent time  in  eastern  and  western  gradu- 
ate institutions.  Of  course  a  list  of 
Utah  born  and  trained  scientists  who 
are  non-physicists  who  have  attended 
Brigham  Young  University  or  the 
other  Utah  universities  would  con- 
tain many  illustrious  names. 

When  the  writer  asked  Dr.  Fletcher 
how  he  accounted  for  the  high  stand- 
ing in  quantity  and  quality  of  Utah 
trained  scientists,  he  modestly  replied, 
"It  is  in  the  tradition  and  philosophy 
of  the  LDS  people  to  prepare  them- 
selves for  leadership  in  every  field  of 
thought  and  action.  Motivated  by 
these  principles  they  have  sought  for 
scholarship  and  efficient  service  in  all 
professions." 

In  July  1947  the  late  Dr.  John  A. 
Widtsoe  and  Richard  L.  Evans  wrote 
an  article  titled,  "The  Education  Level 
of  the  Latter-day  Saints,"  which  was 
published  in  The  Improvement  Era. 
In  that  article  the  authors  stated: 

"To  seek  knowledge  and  convert  it 
into  wisdom  is  a  part  of  the  religion 
of  the  Latter-day  Saints.  This  ex- 
plains their  remarkable  educational 
history   and   present   standing."1 

There  then  follows  an  analysis  ot 
the    history    of    achievement    among 

Wol.  50   (July  1947)   pp.  444-447. 


Latter-day  Saints  by  both  Church  and 
non-church  writers. 

The  authors  continue:  "The  first  of 
the  recent  nongovernmental  evidences 
here  to  be  cited  comes  from  a  book 
titled  Education — America's  Magic  by 
Dr.  Raymond  M.  Hughes,  president 
emeritus  of  Iowa  State  College,  and 
William  H.  Lancelot,  professor  of  vo- 
cational education  at  Iowa  State  Col- 
lege. From  this  book  published  and 
copyright  by  the  Iowa  State  College 
Press  at  Ames,  Iowa,  in  1946,  we 
quote  .  .  .   : 

'Utah  easily  outclasses  all  other 
states  in  over-all  performance  in  edu- 
cation.' "2 

Prior  to  that,  the  authors  had  in- 
cluded this  significant  quotation: 

"This  appears  to  be  due  almost 
wholly  to  the  high  value  placed  on 
education  by  the  people  of  Utah, 
coupled  with  high  efficiency  in  the 
expenditure  of  funds  devoted  to  school 
purposes.  Indeed,  this  combination 
of  great  effort  and  high  efficiency  in 
the  utilization  of  school  funds  seems 
to  have  operated  in  a  remarkable 
manner  to  overcome  the  handicap  of 
relatively  low  ability."3 

Richard  T.   Wootton,   former   cor- 
responding secretary  of  Statecraft  In- 
stitute   and     now    a    supervisor    of 
(Continued  on  page  674) 


^Education — America's    Magic,    p.    41. 
sIdem,    pp.    40-41. 


635 


THE  TINY  VOICE 


Surprised,  he  found  his  wife,  Anne,  wait- 
ing for  him. 


Mitchell  Sherwood  straightened 
the  objects  on  his  desk  methodi- 
cally, glancing  now  and  then  at 
the  closed  door  to  his  boss'  office. 

Lyle  Gordon  had  disappeared  in 
there  half  an  hour  ago.  When  Lyle 
Gordon  came  around,  it  meant  just 
one  thing- — a  big  deal  was  brewing. 

Mitchell  squirmed  uneasily  in  his 
chair  and  glanced  across  the  room  to 
where  Bert  Ellis  bent  over  his  draw- 
ing board. 

"Looks  like  the  boss  is  lining  up 
something  new,"  Mitch  said,  nodding 
his    head    towards    the    closed    door. 

Bert  replied,  "Wonder  what  he's 
got  cooking  now?" 

"With  Lyle  Gordon  it  can  be  any- 
thing from  a  bungalow  to  a  factory  a 
block  long  and  a  block  wide." 

Mitch  chewed  his  lips  and  tapped 
his  fingers  nervously  on  the  desk  top. 
Which  one  would  the  boss  put  in 
charge  this  time,  Bert  or  himself?  One 
of  them  was  going  to  get  a  promotion, 
and  Bert  as  well  as  Mitch  knew  that 
how  they  handled  each  job  decided 
the  lucky  man.  Each  job  either 
pulled  them  up  a  notch  higher  or 
dropped  them  down. 

It  was  like  their  boss,  Ed  Bryant,  to 
keep  them  both  dangling.  He  was 
a  man  who  did  just  as  he  pleased. 
No  one  pushed  or  hurried  him  or 
changed  his  mind  once  it  was  set. 

A  year  ago  when  Mitch  had  first 
started  working  for  Ed  he'd  been  in- 
clined to  speak  his  mind,  disagreeing 
with  Ed  if  necessary  to  put  across  his 
ideas.  Any  more,  since  talk  of  a 
promotion  had  reached  his  ears,  he 
hung  back,  anxious  to  please,  want- 
636 


ing  that  promotion  so  badly  that  it 
hurt. 

It  wasn't  always  easy  to  do.  He 
was  sick  to  death  of  saying  "Yes,  Ed," 
or  "I'm  sure  you're  right,  Ed."  There 
was  a  tiny  voice  inside  that  begged 
to  be  heard,  yearned  to  scream  an 
objection,  to  argue,  and  at  least  try 
for  recognition.  He  kept  pushing  it 
back,  forcing  himself  to  do  the  work 
the  boss'  way. 

Mitch  turned  back  to  his  drawing 
board.  The  plans  for  the  last  job 
were  all  but  completed.  This  morn- 
ing he  would  finish  them.  He 
looked  again  at  the  closed  door  and 
wondered. 

Noon  came,  and  Mitch  hurried  out 
of  the  building,  anxious  to  get  away. 
Surprised,  he  found  his  wife,  Anne, 
waiting  for  him. 

"Hi,"  she  said. 

She  looked  pert  and  happy.  Seeing 
her  lifted  a  little  of  the  uneasiness 
from  his  shoulders. 

"What  are  you  doing  downtown? 
Going  to  lunch  with  me?" 

"Sure  I  am,"  she  said  gaily.  "I'm 
starved.  I've  been  shopping  all  morn- 
ing for  the  party." 

"Party?  What  party?" 

"Mitch!  Where  were  you  last  night 
when  we  decided  we  would  have  an 
anniversary  party?" 

"Oh,  yes!   That's  right." 

"Is  something  wrong,  Mitch?" 
Anne  asked  anxiously.  "You've 
seemed  so  preoccupied  lately." 

"Well,  I  guess  it's  just  that  I'm  a 
little  anxious  about  the  promotion. 
Do  you  think  I'll  get  it?"  he  asked. 

"Ed  Bryant  will  be  crazy  if  he 
doesn't  give  it  to  you.  You're  the 
best  architect  I  know,  besides  the 
cutest." 

He  grinned  at  her.  She  never 
failed  to  give  him  a  boost.  It  was 
just  this  "Yes"  business  that  bothered 
him.  He  hadn't  told  Anne  that  part 
of  it,  and  he  didn't  want  to.  He 
wasn't  very  proud  of  it. 

They  found  a  table  in  the  cafe  on 
the  corner  and  ordered. 

"I've  made  out  a  list  of  guests," 
Anne  was  saying.  "I  wish  you'd  go 
over  it  and  see  if  I've  forgotten  any- 
one." 


by  Arlene  Hale 


He  skimmed  down  the  list  quickly. 
He  saw  Ed's  name  there,  Bert  Ellis', 
and  a  couple  of  the  other  fellows  in 
the  office. 

"Looks  okay  to  me,"  he  told  her. 
"Does  it  seem  like  five  years  to  you?" 

She  laughed.  "Like  yesterday.  The 
honeymoon  has  never  ended,  and  I'm 
glad." 

She  was  full  of  plans  for  the  party 
that  was  scheduled  for  next  week. 
He  tried  to  follow  her  train  of 
thought.  His  mind  kept  going  back 
to  the  office.  The  hour  soon  passed, 
and  Anne  left  him,  murmuring  some- 
thing about  finishing  her  shopping. 

Back  at  the  office  Mitch  found  Bert 
there  ahead  of  him.  The  boss'  door 
was  still  closed. 

"Are  they  still  at  it?"  Mitch  asked. 

"I  guess  so,"  Bert  answered.  "Must 
be  some  building!" 

It  was  just  a  few  minutes  later  that 
the  door  opened.  Mitch  jumped  at 
the  sound.  He  looked  up.  Ed  mo- 
tioned for  him.  He  pushed  back  his 
chair  hastily,  touched  his  tie  to  see 
whether  it  was  straight,  and  hurried 
inside. 

He  shook  hands  with  Lyle  Gordon 
and  listened  as  Ed  gave  him  a  brief 
rundown  on  the  building  they  had  in 
mind. 

"I  want  a  first-class  job,"  Lyle  Gor- 
don said.  "The  best.  Ed  says  you'll 
be  in  charge." 

Mitch  felt  his  scalp  tingle.  He'd 
got  it!  If  he  could  do  it  well  enough 
to  please  both  Gordon  and  Ed,  he 
might  be  one  step  closer  to  the  pro- 
motion. 

Inside  of  ten  minutes,  he  was  deep 
in  the  plans,  discussing  materials  and 
design.  Whenever  Ed  suggested  some- 
thing, Mitch  was  careful  to  agree,  to 
go  along  wholeheartedly  with  his 
ideas. 

It  was  nearly  quitting  time  before 
the  conference  broke  up.  Mitch  was 
tired  when  he  went  back  to  his  desk. 
He  felt  irritable  though  he  knew  he 
should  be  elated.  It  wasn't  every 
young  architect  that  had  a  job  like 
this  tossed  in  his  lap. 

It  was  that,  "Yes,  Ed,"  and  "Sure, 

Ed,"  business  that  was   getting  him 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


down.  The  job  was  one  right  out 
of  the  dream  book.  What  he  could 
do  with  it  if  he  really  knuckled  down! 
He  could  draw  up  some  of  those  new 
ideas  he'd  been  playing  with;  he  could 
build  the  most  modern  and  efficient 
building  in  the  city.  He  slid  his 
thoughts  to  a  stop. 

It  was  no  use.  It  was  either  Ed's 
way  and  a  promotion  or  his  way  and 
losing  the  job  altogether  and  seeing 
it  turned  over  to  Bert  Ellis.  He 
sighed.  He  might  as  well  start  to 
work  on  it.  Time  was  wasting,  and 
Lyle  Gordon  wasn't  a  man  that  liked 
to  be  kept  waiting. 

He  worked  late.  When  the  phone 
rang  on  his  desk,  he  knew  instantly 
that  it  was  Anne. 

"Hello,"  he  answered. 

"Hi,  honey.  Aren't  you  coming 
home  or  have  you  decided  after  five 
years  that  you're  tired  of  me?" 

He  laughed  in  spite  of  himself. 
"I'll  be  there  in  half  an  hour." 

"What's  keeping  you  so  late?"  she 
asked. 

"Lyle  Gordon  dropped  a  big  job 
in  our  laps.     It's  my  baby." 


"Lyle  Gordon!  Honey,  that's  won- 
derful." 

"Sure,  I  suppose  it  is.  See  you 
soon." 

He  closed  the  office  and  tried  to  put 
the  job  out  of  his  mind.  He  had  a 
good  start  on  it  already.  It  was  the 
kind  of  work  Ed  would  like.  To  him 
it  was  dull,  lacking  life  and  original- 
ity. 

"You  look  tired,  Mitch,"  Anne  said, 
when  he  reached  home. 

"A  new  job  is  always  tough  to  get 
rolling,"  he  told  her. 

It  was  later  in  the  evening,  his 
mind  still  on  the  new  job,  when  he 
went  to  his  small  den  where  he  had  a 
drawing  board.  He  used  it  mostly 
for  pleasure,  drawing  original  designs, 
putting  some  abstract  ideas  on  paper. 

He  knew  how  he  would  really  like 
to  do  Lyle  Gordon's  building.  He'd 
been  aching  for  the  chance  to  build 
such  a  place.  He  sharpened  some 
pencils,  thumbtacked  the  paper  to  the 
board,  and  began. 

"Did  you  bring  your  work  home?" 
Anne  asked  from  the  doorway. 

He  turned  around. 


"Just  fooling  around  with  some  new 
ideas,"  he  told  her. 

It  was  very  late  when  he  finally 
quit  and  went  to  bed.  Seeing  these 
new,  bold  ideas  take  form  compen- 
sated for  those  lifeless,  stilted  ones 
he'd  drawn  that  afternoon;  it  helped 
somehow  to  still  that  tiny  voice  in- 
side. 

Lyle  Gordon  wanted  the  finished 
drawings  done  in  a  week's  time.  Mitch 
worked  hard  on  them  all  day  long  at 
the  office,  but  at  night  he  worked  on 
his  own  ideas  at  home  in  the  den.  He 
didn't  know  why  he  kept  at  them 
every  night  except  that  it  relaxed  him 
and  served  as  a  kind  of  balm  to  the 
raw  edges  that  the  day  had  cut  in 
him. 

Time  was  soon  up  on  the  draw- 
ings, the  same  day  their  party  was 
scheduled. 

"I  hope  you  won't  get  tied  up  to- 
night," Anne  said  when  he  left  for 
the  office.  "The  party  won't  start 
until  eight,  but  I'll  need  some  help 
before  then." 

"I'll  do  my  best  to  get  home  early," 
he  promised  her. 

(Concluded  on  page  672) 


SEPTEMBER  1955 


Whenever  Ed  suggested  something,  Mitch  was  careful  to  agree,  to  go  along  whole- 
heartedly with  his  ideas. 

637 


m 


.Mmm 

:        .::.-..■  ■■.:.;■ 


Louisa  Blue,  a  white,  full-blooded  Catawba  Indian,  with  her  daughter-in- 
law,  Sister  Arnold  Blue.     Louisa  is  wife  of  the  Catawba  chief. 


Archaeology 

and  the  BOOK  OF  MORMON 

by  President  Milton  R.  Hunter 

OF  THE  FIRST  COUNCIL  OF  THE  SEVENTY 

Part  V 
White  Indians— continued 


IN  THE  LAST,  issue  of  THE  IMPROVE- 
MENT Era  (August,  1955),  White 
Indians  were  discussed,  showing 
that  the  first  white  men  who  con- 
tacted various  Indian  tribes  reported 
the  discovery  of  certain  numbers  of 
white  Indians  among  their  darker- 
skinned  contemporaries.  The  writer 
concluded  that  the  Nephites  of  Book 
of  Mormon  days  could  have  been  at 
least  partially  responsible  for  the 
white  Indians  and  that  the  Lamanites 
of  the  same  historical  period  consti- 
tuted the  primary  progenitors  of  the 
638 


red,  bronze,  or  darker-colored  In- 
dians. 

This  article  will  present  consider- 
ably more  evidence,  showing  that  "in 
many  parts  of  the  New  World  there 
are  white  Indians.  .  .  ."* 

Paul  Herrmann,  a  German  scholar, 
described  the  famous  Dona  Marina, 
who  for  many  years  was  Fernando 
Cortes'  ".  .  .  truest  comrade  and  the 
only  trustworthy  companion  of  his 
triumphant  life,"2  as  "...   a  light  - 

1Paul     Herrmann,    Conquest    by    Man    (New    York, 
1954),   p.    175. 
Vbid.,   p.    167. 


skinned  princess  exiled  by  Monte- 
zuma, a  member  of  the  imperial 
house."3     The  same  author  wrote: 

The  white  Indians  of  Venezuela,  who  still 
exist,  are  mentioned  in  the  chronicles  of 
the  Spanish  conquerors,  and  the  Boroanos 
Indians  on  the  Rio  Imperial  of  Chile  were 
known  to  the  conquistadores  as  "white  In- 
dians."4 

Francisco  Pizarro  and  those  who  as- 
sisted him  in  the  conquest  of  Peru 
were  surprised  to  find  that  many  of 
the  Indians  of  that  land,  especially 
those  of  the  ruling  class,  were  white 
and  remarkably  beautiful.  In  speak- 
ing of  the  Spanish  conquistadores, 
Herrmann  wrote: 

.  .  .  They  were  most  deeply  impressed, 
however,  by  the  large  number  of  fair  and 
white-skinned  people  they  met  amongst  the 
Inca  Ayllus,  the  Peruvian  aristocracy.  In 
particular,  the  coyas,  the  ladies  of  the  great 
Inca  families,  seem  in  many  cases  to  have 
looked  exactly  like  European  women. 
Pedro  Pizarro,  a  cousin  of  the  conqueror 
of  Peru,  writes  of  them  with  positive  con- 
sternation in  his  Story  of  the  Discovery  and 
Conquest  of  Peru.  These  princesses  were 
neat  and  clean,  stately,  and  beautiful  to  be- 
hold, he  reports.  They  considered  them- 
selves well-formed,  and  were  so  in  fact. 
"These  people  are  corn-blond,"  continues 
Pizarro.  "Some  of  the  ladies  and  gentlemen 
were  actually  whiter  than  Spaniards.  I  saw 
one  woman  with  her  child  here  of  a  white- 
ness such  as  is  seldom  seen.  The  Indians 
believe  such  people  to  be  children  of  the 
idolos,  the  gods."5 

When  one  recalls  the  splendor  of 
the  nobility  of  the  Spanish  court  at 
the  time  of  Charles  V  and  Philip  II 
and  the  ideals  of  beauty  as  depicted 
in  Spanish  paintings  of  that  period, 
it  is  evident  that  Pedro  Pizarro's  con- 
ception of  beauty  would  differ  little 
if  any  from  ours. 

...  At  all  events,  the  haughty  grandees  of 
Castile,  so  proud  of  their  noble  birth,  mar- 
ried the  blond  Inca  princesses  in  large  num- 
bers, regarding  them  as  their  equals  in  birth 
and  presenting  them  to  their  Spanish  Majes- 
ties at  court  in  Madrid.  Two  generations 
later,  in  1603,  a  petition  for  tax  relief  signed 
by  567  representatives  of  old  Inca  families 
was  presented  to  the  crown  of  Spain.  This 
speaks  volumes — and  in  favor  of  Pedro 
Pizarro.8 

The  Catholic  missionaries  who  vis- 
ited Peru  during  the  colonial  period 
were  amazed  at  the  many  similarities 
of  the  Indians'  religious  beliefs  and 
Christianity;  for  example,  they  found 
symbols  of  the  Trinity  before  Peru- 
vian altars,  a  rainbow  legend,  and  a 


THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


mid., 

p- 

166. 

mid., 

p- 

175. 

mid., 

p- 

184. 

mid., 

p- 

185. 

flood  story.7  Paul  Herrmann  con- 
cludes that  the  latter  two  ".  .  .  might 
have  come  straight  from  the  Book  of 
Genesis."8  They  probably  did,  but 
not  directly  through  the  Spanish 
Catholic  missionaries.  Their  origin 
would  date  back  probably  more  than 
a  thousand  years  prior  to  the  dis- 
covery of  America.  When  one  recalls 
the  fact  that  the  Nephites — the  an- 
cestors of  the  white  Indians  of  Peru — - 
possessed  the  Brass  Plates  which  con- 
tained Genesis  and  the  other  Old 
Testament  books  to  and  including  part 
of  Jeremiah's  writings,9  as  well  as  the 
gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  which  they  had 
received  directly  from  the  lips  of  the 
resurrected  Savior,10  it  is  easy  to  ac- 
count for  the  fact  that  even  before 
Catholic  missionaries  had  influenced 
their  thinking,  the  Indians  of  Peru 
possessed  religious  teachings  which 
reminded  the  padres  of  similar  doc- 
trine found  in  the  Bible. 

Not  only  did  the  historians  and 
Spanish  missionaries  report  discoveries 
of  white  Indians  in  Peru  and  other 
South  American  countries,  but  also 
Catholic  missionaries  and  explorers  of 
the  colonial  period  noted  in  their 
journals  that  they,  too,  had  visited 
white  Indians  in  Central  and  North 
America;  for  example,  the  eminent 
Parde  Bernardino  de  Sahagun,  born 
in  Spain  (1499)  and  a  missionary  in 
Mexico  among  the  Indians  from  1529 
to  1590,  wrote  an  important  and 
scholarly  work  entitled  History  of  the 
Things  of  New  Spain,  which  is  ac- 
credited as  being  among  the  most  re- 
liable and  comprehensive  reports 
concerning  the  ancients  of  Middle 
America.  He  described  the  Huastecas 
(Guastecas),  a  Maya-speaking  peo- 
ple who  lived  on  the  lowlands  of 
northern  Vera  Cruz  and  the  adjacent 
foothills  of  San  Luis  Potosi,  as  a 
white  people.    To  quote: 

All  of  them,  men  and  women,  are  white 
and  of  good  and  well-porportioned  faces 
and  good  features;  their  language  is  very 
different  from  the  others  [of  the  central 
mesa  and  northern  gulf-coast  of  Mexico], 
.  ,  .  And  they  are  very  expert  and  good 
officers  of  song;  they  dance  gracefully  and 
with  beautiful  movements. 

These  lived  in  good  breeding,  because  the 
men  wore  good  clothes  and  mantles;  they 
wear  shoes,  jewels  and  beads  around  the 
neck  and  feathers  and  they  have  fans  and 
amulets  and  they  are  curiously  shaved.  They 
look  at  themselves  in  mirrors  and  their 
women  put  on  painted  and  elegant  skirts 
and  blouses.     They  are  polished  and  expert 


in   everything   because  they  said  they  were 
Guastecas;  .  .  .n 

It  is  apparent  from  Padre  Sahagun's 
description  that  these  white  Indians 
retained  many  of  the  characteristics 
of  their  ancestors — -the  Nephites — 
who  were  throughout  most  of  their 
history  ".  .  .  white,  and  exceedingly 
fair  and  delightsome,"12  being  a  su- 
perior, intelligent,  industrious,  moral, 
and  god-fearing  people;13  while  their 
darker-skinned  brethren — the  La- 
manites — "were  ...  an  idle  people, 
full  of  mischief  and  subtlety,"14  ".  .  . 
wild  and  ferocious,  and  a  blood- 
thirsty people,  full  of  idolatry  and 
filthiness,"15  delighting  in  wars  and 
bloodshed,  and  during  much  of  their 
history  of  Book  of  Mormon  days,  hav- 


Chief  S.  T.  Blue  and  his  wife,  Louisa. 

ing    a    burning    hatred    against    the 
Nephites.10 

In  1696-1697  A.D.  Padre  Andres  de 
Avendano  y  Loyola,  a  noble  Catholic 
priest,  visited  a  surviving  remnant  of 
the  former  inhabitants  of  Chichen 
Itza  at  Tayasal,  on  an  island  in  the 
Lake  Peten,  Guatemala.  He  described 
the  skin  color  of  those  people  as  fol- 
lows: 

These  Ytzeas  are  well-featured  and,  like 
mestizoes,  nearly  all  of  a  light  complexion 
and  of  very  perfect  stature,  and  of  natural 
gifts.17 

Not  only  were  white  Indians  found 
south  of  the  Rio  Grande,  but  various 


'Ibid.,   pp.   184-187. 

sIbid.,   p.    186. 

"I    Nephi    5:10-14. 

w3   Nephi,   Chapters   11-28. 

SEPTEMBER  1955 


1:1Sahagun,  "Historia  de  las  Cosas  de'  Nueva  Espana," 
Libro  Novend,  Capitula  29,  Sec.  7,  cited  in  Milton  R. 
Hunter  and  Thomas  Stuart  Ferguson,  Ancient  America 
and  the  Book  of  Mormon  (Oakland,  Calif.,  1950). 
p.  247. 

^2   Nephi  5:21. 

™Ibid.,   5:9-20. 

uIbid.,  5:24. 

15Enos    1:20. 

1(SJacob  7:24. 

17Andres  de  Avendano  y  Loyola,  Relation  de  las 
dos  Entradas  que  hize  a  Peten  Ytza  (1697),  Eng.  tr. 
by  Philip  Ainsworth  Means,,  cited  in  Means,  History 
of  the  Conquest  bf  Yucatan  and  of  the  Itzas  (New 
York,  1917),  p.  22. 


groups  have  been  encountered  north 
of  the  Mexican  border  also;  for  ex- 
ample, the  early  explorers  who  came 
by  sea  to  the  northwestern  coast  of 
North    America    described    in    their 
journals  the  skin  color  of  many  of  the 
Indians  whom  they  visited  as  being 
as   white    as    the    skin    color    of    the 
average  native  of  Europe.  Since  many 
of  the  present  day  Indians  have  mix- 
tures of  white  blood,  it  is  a  signifi- 
cant fact  that  these  early  voyagers— 
like  the  explorers  of  Mexico  and  Cen-  . 
tral  America — saw  many  Indian  tribes   ' 
before  they  had  opportunity  to  inter- 
marry with  white  people  from  the.Old 
World.      Captain    James    Cook,    the  \ 
European     discoverer     in     1784     of  \ 
the  Nootka  Indians  who  lived  on  the 
ocean  side  of  Vancouver  Island,  re-  f 
corded  in  his  fournal  regarding  the  V 
natives  who  were  not  covered  with 
red  paint  that 

.  .  .  the  whiteness  of  their  skin  appeared 
almost  equal  to  that  of  Europeans;  though 
rather  of  that  pale  effete  cast  which  dis- 
tinguished those  of  our  southern  nations. 
The  children  whose  skins  had  never  been 
stained  with  paint,  also  equalled  ours  in 
whiteness.18 

Later  in  his  journal,  Captain  Cook 
described  the  Indian  tribes  which  he 
met  in  Prince  William's  Sound, 
Alaska,  as  follows: 

The  complexion  of  some  of  the  women  and 
some  of  the  children  is  white,  but  without 
any  mixture  of  red.19 

Captain  G.  Dixon  visited  the  north- 
western Pacific  Coast  (1785-1788) 
and  made  the  following  statement  re- 
garding the  Indians: 

In  regards  to  their  complexion,  it  is  not 
easy  to  determine  what  cast  that  is;  but  if 
I  may  judge  from  the  few  people  I  saw 
tolerably  clean,  these  Indians  are  very  little 
darker  than  the  Europeans  in  general.20 

In     1798,    Captain    George    Van-  ' 
couver,  in  whose  honor  the  principal  ' 
island  has  been  named,  described  as  ! 
follows  the  Indians  he  saw  along  the 
Burke  Channel  in  the  heart  of  the 
northwestern  coast: 

The  prominence  of  their  countenances  and 
the  regularity  of  their  features  resembled  the  , 
northern  Europeans.  [If  it  were  not  for  all  ; 
the  oil  and  paint]  .  .  .  there  is  great  reason 
to    believe    that    their    colour    would    have 
differed  but  little  from  such  of  the  laboring 

,       (Continued  on  page  654) 

lsJames  Cook,  A  Voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  (Lon- 
don,   1784),  vol.  2,  p.'  303. 

™Ibid.,  p.  367., 

20G.  Dixon,; ,A?0%yage  Round  the  World,  but  more 
Particularly  ,$fj".  the  North  West  Coast  of  America 
Performed'  in'1785-88   (London,   1789),   p.  238. 

639 


Itfe'te  &rtiw  to  a 


lipUT  thirty-five  miles  from  the  city 
Ipf  Honolulu,  on  the  southwestern 
lip  of  Oahu,  lies  the  small  Church 
"of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints 
settlement  of  Laie.  (Lah-ee-eh). 

In  this  community  was  born  the 
"hukilau"  (who-key-lah-oo),  which 
has  grown  in  the  past  seven  years,  to 
become  world-famous  and  capture  the 
eyes,  fancy,  and  imagination  of  thou- 


sands of  tourists  coming  yearly  to  the 
islands  from  all  over  the  world.  The 
hukilau  is  associated  with  fishing, 
feasting,  sight-seeing,  Hawaiian  and 
Samoan  entertainment,  and  other 
festivities.  Hukilau  in  the  Hawaiian 
language  means  the  pulling  in  of  the 
fish  nets,  huki  meaning  pull,  and 
lau  meaning  net. 
But  to  appreciate  fully  the  hukilau 


and  its  purposes,  we  perhaps  should 
learn  a  little  of  the  history  of  Laie. 
Laie  consists  of  6,500  acres  of  land 
which  the  Church  purchased  in  the 
year  1865,  for  the  sum  of  $256,000 
for  the  purpose  of  building  a  gather- 
ing place  for  the  members  of  the 
Church  in  Hawaii.  As  a  source  of 
income,  the  Church  built  a  sugar 
cane    plantation,    which    they    later 


Brother  Kepa  Kaahawaii,  an  old-timer  m  Laie  i4 
shown  here  depicting  the  method  of*  pounding  the  taro 
root  into  Poi,  with  a  heavy  rock. 


:        ' :  .;..........■..  ...  .  .....■..■. 

This  picture  gives  to  the  tourist  a  glimpse  of  everyday  life  in  Samoa,  as  an- 
other part  of  the  Hukilau  entertainment.  These  Samoan  brethren  are  preparing 
supper,  as  they  do  it  in  Samoa. 


640 


THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


This  picture  shows  the  Hawaiian  show 
in  progress.  The  Hawaiian  grandmother 
dance  is  now  in  progress. 


by  Jack  Uale 

STUDENT   AT   UNIVERSITY   OF  UTAH 


leased  in  1930  to  the  present  Kahuku 
Plantation  Company.  Laie  is  pres- 
ently the  site  of  the  Hawaiian  Tem- 
ple, which  is  one  of  the  highlights 
of  a  tourist  visit  today. 

The  colony  grew  steadily  from  a 
mere  handful  of  about  eighty  native 
Hawaiians  to  a  population  today  of 
1350.  The  settlers  in  Laie  consisted 
mostly  of  Hawaiians  repatriated  from 


Skull  Valley,  Utah,  where  they  strug- 
gled and  endured  many  hardships  un- 
der the  blazing  summer  sun  and 
freezing  winters  for  forty- eight  years 
so  they  could  be  near  the  headquar- 
ters of  the  Church.  After  the  Church 
purchased  Laie,  the  General  Authori- 
ties offered  these  brave  Hawaiians 
free  passage  home  so  they  could  build 
the  area  and  the  land  of  Laie  for 
themselves  and  more  important  be- 
cause a  temple  was  to  be  erected 
there. 

Outstanding  in  Laie  for  three-quar- 
ters of  a  century  was  the  old  chapel 
which  stood  originally  where  the  tem- 
ple now  is.  To  make  room  for  the 
construction  of  the  temple,  the  chapel 
was  moved  to  a  new  location  not  very 
far  from  its  original  site.  The  people 
loved  this  old  building  very  much, 
and  affectionately  named  in  hemolele, 
meaning  holy  place.  This  beloved 
chapel  unfortunately  burned  down  in 
1 940.  When  the  firemen  arrived  from 
the  nearest  fire  station  some  forty- 
five  miles  away,  the  building  was  al- 
ready completely  in  ashes.  The  Saints 
stood  by  helplessly  and  wept  un- 
ashamedly. 

Almost  immediately  the  people  be- 
gan planning  ways  and  means  of 
raising  money  for  a  new  chapel  when 
suddenly  Pearl  Harbor  was  attacked. 
This,  of  course,  stopped  everything, 
and  the  communitv  of  Laie  had  to 
content  itself  with  holding  Sunday 
services  in  a  recreational  hall  for  the 
next  nine  years. 

In  1947,  a  committee  headed  by 
Bishop  Poi  Kekauoha  began  in  earnest 
to  raise  money  for  a  new  chapel.  It 
was  decided  that  a  hukilau  be  staged 


as  a  benefit,  and  that  tickets  be  sold 
among  their  own  people  and  folk 
from  the  neighboring  communities. 
This  affair  proved  tremendously  suc- 
cessful, epecially  so  when  several 
hundred  tourists  visited  this  activity 
when  they  unexpectedly  came  across 
it  while  touring  the  island.  Thus 
was  born  the  idea  of  entertaining 
tourists  monthly,  with  the  assistance 
of  the  Hawaii  Visitors  Bureau  and  its 
advertisements.  From  this  source  of 
revenue  came  the  major  portion  of  the 
money  needed  for  the  chapel.  Con- 
tributions pledged  by  each  family,  and 
money  derived  through  the  process 
of  benefit  concerts  and  dances,  en- 
abled Laie  to  contribute  $10,000  in 
addition  to  the  $40,000  profit  that  was 
realized  through  the  medium  of  the 
hukilau.  Besides  raising  the  money 
for  the  chapel,  the  folk  of  Laie  did 
the  actual  labor  in  constructing  the 
beautiful  building  that  they  are  now 
enjoying.  All  of  the  labor  in  the 
construction  of  the  hukilau  site  was 
donated  by  the  people  of  Laie;  this 
included  the  dining  rooms,  entertain- 
ment stage,  the  Hawaiian  village,  Sa- 
moan  village,  concession  booths,  na- 
tive curios,  boat  and  nets  used  in  the 
fishing,  and  the  pits  in  which  to  roast 
the  hogs.  Painters,  plumbers,  car- 
penters, common  laborers,  students, 
farmers,  housewives,  servicemen,  and 
many  others  from  the  community  all 
had  a  hand  in  this  project. 

At  the  dedication  of  the  newly  com- 
pleted edifice  in  1950,  there  were  1300 
people  from  all  over  the  Hawaiian 
Islands  present,  including  officers 
from  the  Church  headquarters  in  Salt 
(Continued  on  page  681) 


The  "hukilau"  Floor  show  consists  of  a  45-minute  Hawaiian 
entertainment  and  a  45-minute  Samoan  entertainment.  Here  is 
pictured  the  young  Samoan  brethren  and  sisters  dancing. 


Part  of  the  tremendous  group  of  tourists,  enjoying  a  regular 
Hawaiian  feast  at  the  "hukilau"  site.  The  tables  are  beautifully 
decorated  with  flowers  as  well  as  food. 


SEPTEMBER  1955 


641 


Alexis  De  Toquerville,  the  French 
philosopher,  writes:  "I  sought  for 
the  greatness  and  the  genius  of 
America  in  her  ample  rivers — it  was 
not  there;  in  her  fertile  fields  and 
boundless  prairies,  and  it  was  not 
there;  in  her  rich  mines  and  her  vast 
world  commerce,  and  it  was  not  there. 
Not  until  I  went  into  the  churches  of 
America  and  heard  her  pulpits  ablaze 
with  righteousness  did  I  meet  the 
secret  of  her  genius  and  power. 
America  is  great  because  she  is  good, 
and  if  America  ever  ceases  to  be 
good— America  will  cease  to  be  great." 
I  think  all  of  us  thrill  to  the  spirit- 
ual awakening  that  has  come  to  our 
land.  In  the  last  presidential  cam- 
paign both  candidates  quoted  from 
the  scriptures,  referred  to  the  word  of 
God,  invoked  the  blessings  of  the  Al- 
mighty. It  thrills  me  to  read  that 
when  the  President  of  these  United 
States  calls  his  cabinet  members  to- 
gether, the  meetings  are  opened  with 
prayer.  I  thrilled  anew,  and  I  am 
sure  you  did  also,  as  I  learned  of  the 
change  in  the  wording  of  the  pledge 
of  allegiance  to  our  flag  now  in- 
corporating the  words  "under  God." 
It  looks  as  if  at  long  last  we  may  be 
returning  to  the  thought  found  on 
all  of  our  coins,  "In  God  we  trust," 
and  that  we  are  coming  to  realize 
that  God  is  our  Father  and  that  our 
fellow  men  are  our  brothers. 

Scout  leaders  get  all  mixed  up  some- 
times in  knot-tying,  hiking,  camping, 
and  cooking,  and  overlook  the  great 
objectives  of  this  God-inspired  pro- 
gram. I  think  I  can  best  illustrate 
those  objectives  by  this  little  fable 
that  I  love. 

An  ancient  king  said  to  his  servants, 
"Make  me  a  man."  Anxious  to  please 
the  monarch,  they  went  out,  employed 
the  best  artisans  of  the  land  and 
carved  from  wood  a*man.  The  king 
wouldn't  have  it.  ,  "No!"  he  said, 
"Make  me  a  man."  They  tried  with 
clay;  they  tried  with'  stone,  and  with 
oils  on  canvas.  Nothing  pleased  him, 
and  finally  in  desperation  they  found 
one  of  the  dregs  of  humanity  in  the 
gutter,  a  tramp — and  they  bathed 
him,  clothed  him,  fed  him,  and 
brought  him  before  the  king.  The 
king  was  highly  pleased  and  said, 
"Next  in  importance  to  the  God  who 
creates  is  the  man  who  saves." 

That's  scouting!  To  make  of  these 
boys  men — men  of  God,  men  of 
character,    sterling    character!      The 

*Adapted  from  an  address  presented  at  the  Annual 
Laymen's  Conference,  Region  XI  Boy  Scouts  of 
America. 

642 


Spiritualized  Scouting 

by  Elbert  R.  Curtis 

GENERAL  SUPERINTENDENT,  YMMIA 


whole  essence  of  the  program  will  be 
found  right  there. 

The  first  words  children  learn 
around  the  home  are:  "No,"  "I  don't 
want  to,"  "I  won't."  Ever  hear  these 
words?  This  scouting  program  isn't 
a  plan  of  do  or  don't  or  of  must  or 
must  not.  Scouting  is  positive.  Scout- 
ing is  trustworthy,  is  loyal,  is  helpful, 
friendly,  courteous,  kind,  obedient, 
cheerful,  thrifty,  brave,  clean.  A 
Scout  is  reverent,  and  those  are  the 
qualities  of  good  character.  When 
you  find  a  man  or  boy  who  possesses 
them,  I  will  show  you  an  individual 
of  character. 

This  old  world  of  ours  needs  more 
men  of  character.  It  has  been  suffer- 
ing from  lack  of  confidence,  from 
wish-washy  thinking.  Democracy  has 
suffered  in  the  world  from  lack  of 
confidence  and  integrity.  We  used  to 
say  of  a  man,  "He  is  as  good  as  his 
word,"  or  "his  word  is  as  good  as  his 
bond."  We  haven't  heard  much  of 
that  lately;  there  has  been  too  much 
double  talk — too  much  double  deal- 
ing. Further,  I  think  that  as  we  give 
all  this  talk  which  flows  so  easy  about 
freedom,  we  need  to  emphasize  that 
with  the  blessings  of  freedom  and  the 
freedom  of  choice,  comes  the  respon- 
sibility for  choices  that  are  made. 
Freedom  to  choose,  yes,  but  liability 
for  the  choice  we  make!  I  think  we 
need  to  teach  that  it  is  false  philos- 
ophy to  feel  that  there  is  an  absence 
of  any  personal  liability  for  an  indi- 
vidual's conduct.  The  person  who 
violates  the  law  is  responsible.  The 
man  who  pulls  the  trigger  must  an- 
swer for  it,  and  this  .tendency  in  the 
world  to  excuse,  to  place  the  blame 
on  surroundings,  lack  of  parental 
love,  slums,  comic  books,  juke  boxes, 
on  anything  but  the  individual,  is 
leading  us  down  the  trail.  We  need 
to  emphasize  that  each  individual  is 
responsible  to  himself,  to  society,  and 
to  God  for  his  own  activities.  I  am 
grateful  that  scouting  teaches  these 
character-building  traits. 

I  have  always  felt  that  it  was  not 


a  good  neighborhood  for  my  boy  un- 
less it  was  a  good  community  for 
my  neighbor's  boy.  We  need  to  reach 
out  and  bring  more  of  them  in  and 
expose  them  to  this  scouting  program. 
Boys  don't  want  to  miss  it;  they  love 
it.  There  is  a  way  to  reach  their 
hearts,  and  to  shape  their  lives.  The 
facets  of  scouting  provide  that  way. 
Don't  let  them  miss  it. 

I  have  always  enjoyed  the  story 
of  the  mother  who  visited  her  son 
in  his  dormitory.  She  was  shocked 
and  disappointed  to  find  on  the  walls, 
pin-ups,  cartoons  of  fan  dancers,  and 
the  like;  but  she  was  a  wise  mother, 
and  she  did  not  say  anything.  She 
went  home,  bought  a  beautiful  pic- 
ture of  the  Savior,  wrapped  it  with 
loving  care  and  sent  it  to  her  son. 
He  wanted  to  hang  the  picture  on 
the  wall,  but  it  just  didn't  fit.  He 
tried  it  here,  and  he  tried  it  there, 
but  it  was  out  of  place.  Do  you 
know  what  he  did?  He  pulled  down 
the  pin-ups,  and  he  hung  this  glorious 
painting  before  him.  Let's  get  this 
program  with  all  its  beauty  before  the 
boys.  They'll  take  it,  and  they'll 
weed  out  the  other  things,  and  you 
won't  need  to  worry  about  them. 

Scouters,  parents,  lovers  of  boys: 
we  have  a  sacred  obligation  to  pro- 
vide program  and  leadership  for  these 
choice  spirits,  the  youth  of  America. 
We  need  support  from  every  area. 
This  program  has  everything  to  offer 
if  we  present  it  in  the  right  way. 

"How  much  is  a  boy  worth?"  How 
much  is  he  worth?  It  is  said  that 
this  generation  knows  the  price  of 
everything,  the  value  of  nothing,  but 
whether  you  call  it  price  or  value, 
what  is  the  worth  of  a  boy?  In  the 
next  few  minutes  I  would  like  to 
answer  this  question  and  use  this  il- 
lustration. 

It  is  said  that  the  man  who  in- 
vented the  game  of  chess  presented  it 
to  an  Oriental  monarch.  The  mon- 
arch was  greatly  pleased  and  wanted 
to  reward  him  and  said,  "Ask  for 
whatever  you  will,  it  shall  be  yours." 
THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


The  man  was  crafty,  and  he  said, 
"Your  highness,  will  you  put  one 
grain  of  wheat  on  the  first  square  of 
my  chess  board,  two  on  the  next, 
double  it  on  the  next,  double  it  on  the 
next,  and  double  it  until  you  have  it 
doubled  sixty-four  times.  That  shall 
be  my  reward."  The  monarch 
thought,  "You  foolish  man."  So  he 
told  his  prime  minister  to  take  his 
bag  and  shovel  and  get  the  fellow 
some  wheat.  In  an  hour  or  so  the 
prime  minister  came  back  pale  and 
trembling  and  said,  "Your  highness, 
do  you  know  what  you  have  given 
away?  You  have  given  away  over 
one  sextillion  grains,"  whatever  that 
is  (it  is  represented  by  a  1  and  19 
digits  following  it).  It  represents 
over  ten  trillion  bushels  of  wheat, 
which  would  cover  fifty-two  cubic 
miles,  and  there  are  not  enough  gran- 
aries in  all  the  world  to  hold  it. 
What  does  that  have  to  do  with 


boys?  It  has  this  to  do  with  boys. 
Statisticians  tell  us  that  the  average 
man  will  have  3.7  children.  Let  us 
say  we  do  a  little  better  than  that 
and  give  him  credit  for  four.  It  means 
that  by  the  fourth  generation  a  man 
will  have  256  direct  descendants,  and 
by  adding  the  other  three  intervening 
generations  he  will  have  a  grand  total 
of  340  direct  descendants.  At  the  end 
of  ten  generations  he  will  have  over 
one  million  descendants. 

Among  human  beings,  like  begets 
like,  and  quadruples  itself  every  gen- 
eration. There  are  exceptions,  but 
the  general  rule  is  that  delinquency 
begets  delinquency,  crime  expands  its 
own  evil  influence  in  an  ever-widen- 
ing sweep  with  each  succeeding  gen- 
eration. Recent  figures  tell  us  that 
crime  in  America  in  1953  increased 
five  percent  faster  than  population. 
The  results  of  a  crime  survey  con- 
ducted bv  the  Harvard  Law  School 


— Photo   by  Harold  M.   Lambert 
How  much  is  a  boy  worth?     More  than  anything  else  in  the  world. 
SEPTEMBER  1955 


proved  conclusively  that  corrupt 
homes  produce  criminal  offspring. 
As  homes  deteriorate,  as  parents  be- 
come more  and  more  indifferent,  their 
children  tend  to  become  more  and 
more  delinquent. 

Now  I  ask  you  to  think  of  the 
story  of  the  monarch  and  the  wheat, 
and  consider  this  question.  "If  you 
lose  a  boy  this  year,  how  many  have 
you  lost  a  hundred  years  from  now? 
It  presents  a  black  picture.  But  the 
coin  has  another  side,  and  this  is  as 
encouraging  as  the  other  one  is  dis- 
couraging. The  general  rule  is  that 
righteous  parents  produce  offspring 
in  their  own  image,  and  the  cycle  of 
goodness  will  increase  with  each 
generation  in  an  ever-widening  bene- 
diction to  humanity. 

When  we  save  a  boy,  we  probably 
are  helping  to  save  his  future  wife, 
his  future  children,  his  future  grand- 
children, and  so  on,  generation  after 
generation.  It  is  said  that  the  child 
is  the  father  of  a  man.  This  means 
that  a  delinquent  child  grows  into  a 
delinquent  parent  who  produces  de- 
linquent children,  who  grow  into  de- 
linquent parents,  and  you  are  in  a 
vicious  cycle. 

Most  things  are  easy  to  talk  about, 
but  what  should  be  done  about  it? 
Consider  the  child  from  a  delinquent 
or  indifferent  parent.  You  can't 
satisfy  yourself  by  saying  that  the 
child  is  the  sole  responsibility  of  the 
parent.  Can  you  sleep  nights  with 
that  philosophy?  Of  course  he  is, 
but  supposing  the  parent  is  not  as- 
suming his  responsibility.  If  he  were, 
the  child  wouldn't  be  delinquent.  We 
in  scouting  must  step  in  and  provide 
for  that  child  the  love,  the  friendship, 
the  guidance  that  he  would  have  had 
if  his  parents  had  been  doing  their 
duty,  and  only  in  that  way  can  we 
cut  through  that  vicious  cycle.  To 
do  it  is  worth  all  of  the  effort,  and 
all  of  the  means,  and  all  that  is  put 
into  it. 

How  much  is  a  boy  worth?  More 
than  anything  else  in  the  world.  The 
Master  of  the  world  said,  "For  what 
doth  it  profit  a  man  if  he  shall  gain 
the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own 
soul?"  (See  Matt.  16:26;  Mark  8:36.) 
That  soul  you  talk  about  could  be 
your  own  boy  or  your  own  grand- 
child unless  we  make  available  the 
things  we  are  discussing.  Yes,  the 
scouting  effort  makes  sense,  and 
it  is  worth  following.  This  scouting 
program  brings  into  a  boy's  life  a 
(Continued  on  page  683) 

643 


facts  about  the 


Word  of  Wisdom 

by  Thomas  Ray  Broadbent,  M.  D. 


The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of 
Latter-day  Saints  was  about  three 
years  old  when,  in  1833,  the 
Prophet  Joseph  Smith  sought  the 
Lord's  advice  regarding  a  currently 
perplexing  problem — the  use  of  to- 
bacco. 

The  advice  given  as  the  Word  of 
Wisdom  consisted  of  a  dietary  rule 
which  is  unique  in  being  given  to  the 
world  at  that  particular  time  and 
applicable  to  our  mode  of  living.  In 
principle  the  rules  were  not  unlike 
many  dietary  laws  such  as  the  canon- 
ical laws,  rules  of  lent,  dietary  regimes 
of  the  oriental  religions,  the  dietary 
law  of  Moses,  and  Mohammed's 
food  and  drink  law.  The  rules 
revealed  to  the  Prophet  are  unique 
in  being  presented  to  the  world  ten 
or  twenty  years  before  anesthesia, 
antisepsis,  and  dietetics  were  devel- 
oped as  specific  sciences.  The  advice 
given  also  carries  a  promise,  to  those 
who  so  abide,  of  good  health.  The 
plan  is  designed  to  be  livable  by  the 
old,  the  weak,  or  the  strong,  and  any 
who  are  strong  enough  to  be  called 
Saints. 

What  are  these  wise  words  of  wis- 
dom? Briefly,  abstain  from  the  use 
of  alcohol,  tobacco,  tea,  and  coffee,  eat 
healthful  grain  products  and  herbs 
and  fruits  in  season  and  use  meat 
sparingly,  especially  in  warm  weather. 
Is  this  plan  hard  to  live?  Yes,  if  one 
has  once  broken  his  trust,  but 
good  habits  are  easily  kept  if  kept 
daily. 

This  life  is  a  period  of  probation. 
During  our  mortal  lives  we  are  given 
our  bodies  as  tabernacles  of  our 
spirits.  Do  you  want  your  strength 
decreased,  mental  alertness  dulled, 
your  privilege  of  motherhood  taken, 
time  wasted  and  failure  assured?  A 
sensible  answer  to  these  queries  is 
No!  We  claim  this  counsel  to  be  an 
avenue  to  health  and  happiness,  and 
that  we  shall  truly  run  and  not  be 
weary.  If  this  is  our  claim,  what  is 
the  proof?  Both  the  skeptic  and  the 
alert  young  investigating  mind  have 
the  right  to  say,  "How  do  I  know  this 
is  worth  while?" 

In  1822  painful  joints  and  muscles 
644 


due  to  alcohol  were  known  to  doc- 
tors, and  in  1907  active  research  was 
begun  which  has  demonstrated  the 
use  of  alcohol  for  external  application 
only.  Alcohol,  by  its  properties  of 
evaporation,  cools  the  body  and  is 
useful  in  combating  fever.  It  also  de- 
creases sweating,  toughens  the  skin, 
and  is  helpful  in  preventing  bed  sores. 
As  an  antiseptic  and  cleaning  solu- 
tion before  an  operation,  it  is  excel- 
lent. When  taken  internally,  it  is  a 
coagulant  of  protein  and  kills  cells 
such  as  those  lining  the  stomach.  It 
is  a  preservative  and  an  excellent 
fluid  in  which  to  keep  frogs  and  other 
specimens  for  study.  Alcohol  is  an 
irritant  and  gives  most  drinkers  gas- 
tritis. To  the  nervous  system  alcohol 
is  a  depressant.  The  drinker  seems 
overly  happy  and  active  only  because 
the  higher  centers  of  his  brain  have 
lost  their  control.  This  lack  of  con- 
trol and  mental  ability  and  physical 
reactivity  account  for  many  tragedies 
that  would  not  occur  if  there  were 
control  of  the  total  faculties.  Alco- 
hol in  larger  doses,  just  another  drink 
or  two,  is  an  anesthetic.  How  else 
could  the  intoxicated  man  or  woman 
awake  with  bruises  and  cuts  that  he 
can't  recall  sustaining?  Yet  this 
anesthetic  is  so  dangerous  it  is  seldom 
used  by  doctors  and  then  only  as  a 
local  anesthetic  in  special  cases.  Ether 
and  chloroform  are  much  safer. 

Alcohol  is  also  a  vasodilator  or  a 
substance  that  produces  an  increase 
in  the  size  of  small  vessels  in  the  skin. 
This  is  why  the  "toper"  has  a  red 
nose,  and  why  at  the  football  game 
someone  says,  "A  little  drink  or  two 
and  I'll  be  warm  as  toast."  The  in- 
crease in  vessel  size  results  in  an  in- 
creased blood  flow,  and  thus  heat 
from  the  central  portion  of  the  body 
is  dissipated.  The  men  on  the  polar 
expeditions  found  that  this  was  true, 
but  the  men  were  happily  freezing 
to  death.  Nature  is  wonderful  if  left 
alone.  Getting  cold  is  a  warning, 
and  this  warning  is  gone  when  we 
are  anesthetized  or  drunk.  The  skin 
vessels  become  small  in  cold  weather 
in  an  effort  to  conserve  heat.  This 
protection  is  lost  with  vasodilatation. 


Thus,  the  drinking  man  loses  his  heat 
foolishly,  and  lacking  control  of  his 
higher  nervous  centers  by  actually 
being  partially  anesthetized,  freezes  to 
death. 

Alcohol  also  damages  the  kidneys, 
especially  if  one  already  has  a  kidney 
disease. 

Alcohol  has  been  portrayed  as  a 
liquid  food.  It  is  true  that  when 
alcohol  is  burned  in  the  liver  it  has 
a  definite  caloric  value.  Simulta- 
neously, however,  in  burning  the  alco- 
hol the  liver  is  damaged  and  scarred 
and  poor  circulation  develops.  Fluid 
then  forms  in  the  abdominal  cavity. 
Large  vessels  develop  in  the  esophagus 
in  a  natural  attempt  to  bypass  the 
dam  made  by  the  scars  in  the  liver. 
These  vessels  build  up  a  high  pres- 
sure, and  finally  one  day  death  re- 
sults.   Are  there  not  better  foods? 

Alcoholic  addiction  is  common,  as 
are  the  lost  jobs,  broken  homes,  failed 
purposes  in  life,  and  broken  men  and 
women.  Special  hospitals  are  pro- 
vided for  the  neurotic  and  psychotic 
minds  produced  by  this  fluid,  and  the 
"D.T.'s"  is  only  one  form  of  such  a 
mental  disease.  Physical  reactivity 
is  slowed  as  our  minds  are  dulled. 
Pilots  have  crashed,  thus  proving  this, 
and  thousands  have  died  on  the  high- 
ways because  their  feet  didn't  quite 
get  to  the  brakes  in  time.  Some  alco- 
hols (wood  alcohol)  when  burned  in 
the  body  produce  formic  acid,  the 
main  constituent  of  embalming  fluid. 
Would  you  drink  embalming  fluid? 
Some  folk  do,  and  before  dying  go 
through  the  first  torture  of  going 
blind. 

These  are  some  of  the  facts  about 
the  Word  of  Wisdom  as  revealed  to 
the  Prophet  Joseph  at  Kirtland,  Ohio, 
in  1833,  and  as  recorded  in  the 
eighty-ninth  section  of  the  Doctrine 
and  Covenants.  The  health-giving 
properties .  of  grains  and  herbs  and 
fruits,  and  the  proper  use  and  the 
tragic  results  of  the  disgusting  misuse 
of  alcohol  have  in  part  been  brought 
to  your  attention.  Which  road  do 
you  choose?  Be  honest  with  yourself 
in  this  personal  inventory! 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


Water  is  the  most  important  resource  of  the  national  forests,  and  watershed  protection 
the  forest  officer's  most  important  duty. 


YEARS 
PROGRESS 


IN  MULTIPLE-USE  FORESTRY 

;  Arnold  R,  Standing 

ASSISTANT  REGIONAL   FORESTER,   B.  S.  FOREST   SERVICE 
INTERMOUNTA1N   REGION,   OGDEN.    t'TAH 

ki/tos  courtesy  U,  S.  Fo 


SEPTEMBER  1955 


The  United  States  Forest  Service  is 
celebrating  its  fiftieth  birthday  this 
year.  Actually  no  one  can  point 
to  any  single  instance  and  say,  "That 
is  when  forestry  began  in  the  United 
States."  A  few  events  do  stand  out  as 
being  especially  significant.  One  of 
these  was  the  establishment  of  the 
Division  of  Forestry  in  1876.  Another, 
was  the  passage  by  Congress  of  the 
General  Revision  Act  of  1891  which 
gave  the  President  authority  to  set 
aside  areas  of  the  public  domain  as 
Forest  Reserves. 

Another  conservation  milestone  was 
the  work  of  the  National  Forest  Com- 
mission of  the  National  Academy  of 
Sciences.  This  commission  spent  much 
time  in  1896  studying  the  condition 
of  watersheds,  forests,  and  ranges  on 
federal  lands  in  the  West.  Its  re- 
port told  of  the  destruction  of  water- 
sheds and  forests  by  raging  forest 
fires  and  of  feeble  efforts  to  prevent 
or  control  them,  of  the  indiscriminate, 
unmanaged  cutting  of  the  timber,  of 
ranges  being  destroyed  by  trampling 
and  overgrazing.  It  focused  the  at- 
tention of  thinking  people  on  a  serious 
problem  that  confronted  the  nation 
and  cried  for  action. 

Action  came  slowly  at  first.  The 
Forest  Reserves  were  under  the  Land 
Office  in  the  Department  of  the  In- 
terior, where  there  were  no  trained 
foresters.  The  few  existing  trained 
foresters  were  in  the  Bureau  of  For- 
estry in  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
which  had  no  forest  lands  to  manage. 
An  Act  of  Congress  placed  the  Forest 
Reserves,  later  called  National  Forests, 
in  the  Department  of  Agriculture  on 
February  1,  1905  under  the  super- 
vision   of    Gifford    Pinchot    as    chief. 

From  the  outset,  the  administra- 
tion of  the  National  Forests  has  been 
guided  by  four  basic  principles — the 
first  of  which  is  that  all  the  resources 
are  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  all  the 
people.  Another  is  the  principle  of 
sustained-yield  management,  which 
affirms  that  the  resources  will  not  be 
used  faster  than  they  are  being  pro- 
duced; that  timber  will  be  harvested 
only  to  the  extent  of  its  annual 
growth;  that  a  sufficient  amount  of 
the  forage  plants  will  be  left  to  pro- 
tect the  soil  and  assure  a  continual, 
healthy  growth;  that  the  soil,  streams, 
lakes,  and  watersheds  will  be  pro- 
tected in  perpetuity;  and  that  the  wild 
beauty  of  the  mountains  and  forests 
will  be  preserved  forever. 

(Continued  on  following  page) 

645 


\ 


Airplanes   spray    areas   infested    with   tree-destroying    insects   or 
worthless  plants  competing  with  good  forage. 


The  forest  ranger  marks  trees  for  cutting.     Young,  vigorous  trees  One  of  the  forest  ranger's  many  jobs  is  to  make  timber  sales  and 

are  left  to  produce  seed  and  to  provide  future  crops.  to  measure  the  timber  that  is  cut. 


50  Years  of  Progress 

(Continued  from  preceding  page) 
A  third  great  principle  is  multiple 
use  of  the  National  Forests,  meaning 
that  any  area  will  produce  several  or 
all  of  a  variety  of  resources — water, 
timber,  forage  for  livestock,  wildlife, 
and  opportunities,  for  outdoor  recrea- 
tion. The  fourth  recognizes  that  in 
applying  the  principle  of  multiple  use 
there  will  be  clashes  of  interests  of 
the  various  users.  This  principle  was 
stated  by  Secretary  of  Agriculture 
James  Wilson  in  a  letter  to  Gifford 
Pinchot  dated  February  1,  1905,  as 
follows — ".  .  .  and  where  conflicting 
interests  must  be  reconciled,  the  ques- 
tion will  always  be  decided  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  greatest  good  of  the 
greatest  number  in  the  long  run.  .  .  ." 
Under  these  principles  and  others 
related  to  them,  much  progress  has 
been  made  in  the  past  fifty  years  not 
only  in  protecting  and  developing  the 
natural  resources  but  also  in  making 

646 


them  serve  the  various  needs  of   all 
the  people,  to  whom  they  belong. 

By  persistent  effort,  the  public  has 
been  brought  to  realize  the  terrible 
destructiveness  of  forest  fires  and  is 
exercising  much  more  care  in  their 
prevention.  The  result  is  a  marked 
reduction  in  the  number  of  man- 
caused  fires,  even  though  visits  to  the 
National  Forests  have  increased  a  hun- 


Firefighting   is   a  tough   job. 


dredfold.  The  techniques  of  detect- 
ing fires  as  soon  as  they  start,  getting 
to  them  quickly,  and  fighting  them 
effectively,  have  greatly  improved. 

Fire  fighting  is  done  with  modern 
equipment  such  as  water  pumps, 
tractors,  trenchers,  and  chemicals,  al- 
though the  ax,  the  shovel,  and  hard 
work  still  play  their  part.  Smoke- 
jumpers,  who  parachute  to  fires  from 
airplanes,  have  controlled  thousands 
of  fires  while  they  were  small  and 
prevented  the  destruction  of  untold 
acres  of  watershed  lands  with  their 
timber,  forage,  wildlife  inhabitants, 
and  their  natural  beauty. 

The  construction  of  roads,  trails, 
airports,  telephone  lines,  radio  net- 
works, and  other  improvements  has 
been  a  vital  part  of  the  progress  in 
forestry.  Such  improvements  facili- 
tate the  protection  of  the  resources, 
are  essential  to  good  administration  of 
the  national  forests,  and  make  it  pos- 
sible to  utilize  the  timber,  forage,  wild- 
life, and  other  resources,  as  well  as 
THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


Lookouts  keep  constant  watch  to  detect  and  report  fires. 


Modern  way  of  going  to  a  forest  fire. 


enabling   people   to    visit    and    enjoy 
their  great  outdoor  heritage. 

Much  has  been  accomplished  in  the 
management  and  utilization  of  the 
timber  resources.  Forest  officers  have 
surveyed  the  stands  of  timber  so  they 
know  how  much  there  is  by  kinds  and 
age  classes,  how  fast  the  trees  are 
growing,  and  how  much  timber  can 
be  harvested  annually.  The  foresters 
mark  mature  trees  for  cutting,  making 
sure  sufficient  trees  are  left  for  re- 
seeding  and  for  the  protection  of  steep 
slopes.  They  prepare  cutting  plans 
and  then  advertise  the  timber  which 
is  for  sale  to  the  highest  bidder.  Cut- 
ting is  carefully  supervised  to  prevent 
damage  to  the  soil  and  watershed  or 
to  the  young  timber  left  to  produce 
the  next  crop.    Slash  from  the  cutting 


is  piled  and  then  burned  when  the 
fall  storms  come  or  it  is  scattered  in 
the  gullies  and  skid  roads  to  prevent 
soil  erosion.  The  cutover  areas  or 
those  burned  by  fires  are  planted  with 
young  trees  if  they  will  not  reseed 
naturally. 

But  fire  is  not  the  only  enemy  of 
the  nation's  forests.  A  multitude  of 
tree- destroying  insects  and  diseases 
are  a  constant  threat.  Before  the  Na- 
tional Forests  were  established,  noth- 
ing was  done  to  combat  these  attacks, 
but  during  the  past  fifty  years  great 
strides  have  been  made  in  detecting 
and  controlling  these  forest  enemies. 

In  range  use,  too,  much  progress 
has  been  made  since  the  turn  of  the 
century.  In  those  days,  at  the  peak 
of    western    range    livestock    grazing, 


millions  of  cattle  and  sheep  competed 
for  the  available  forage.  The  ranges 
and  watersheds  suffered  from  overuse, 
too  early  grazing  in  the  spring,  re- 
peated use  of  sheep  bed  grounds,  and 
the  heavy  trampling  of  livestock  being 
driven  to  the  more  choice  range  areas 
to  get  there  ahead  of  the  other  fellow. 

Creation  of  the  National  Forests 
brought  controlled  grazing  to  the 
range.  With  the  assignment  of  defi- 
nite range  allotments  to  individual 
livestock  men  or  community  groups 
came  delegation  and  assumption  of 
responsibility  in  use  of  the  range  and 
the  opportunity  to  rehabilitate  it  for 
the  future.  Livestock  permittees  form 
associations,  and  each  chooses  ad- 
visory boards  from  its  membership  to 

(Concluded  on  following  page) 


Elk  on  winter  range  on  the  Teton  National  Forest. 


SEPTEMBER  1955 


647 


50  YEARS  OF  PROGRESS 


(Concluded  from  preceding  page) 
work  with  the  forest  officers  in  apply- 
ing progressive  range  management 
practices.  The  time  of  grazing  use  in 
the  spring  has  been  delayed  until  the 
soil  is  dry  enough  to  withstand 
trampling,  and  until  forage  growth 
has  a  good  start.  Salt,  which  the  live- 
stock need  and  relish,  is  placed  away 
from  natural  congregating  places  to 
induce  grazing  on  more  lightly  used 
areas  and  to  lessen  use  where  it  other- 
wise would  be  too  heavy.  Watering 
places  have  been  developed,  by  use  of 
small  reservoirs  or  the  installation  of 
troughs,  both  to  meet  the  animals' 
requirements  and  to  make  possible  the 
utilization  of  forage  which  would  be 
wasted  without  the  availability  of 
water.  Herding,  the  construction  of 
fences,  stock  trails,  and  other  im- 
provements are  management  devices 
used  to  distribute  the  stock  uniformly 
over  the  range  according  to  the 
amount  of  usable  forage.  Low  value 
herbs  and  undesirable  shrubs  that 
compete  with  good  forage  plants,  have 
been  reduced  in  places  through  con- 
trolled burning  or  by  herbicides. 
Thousands  of  acres  of  badly  depleted 
ranges  have  been  plowed  and  reseeded 
to  hasten  the  restoration  of  good  plant 
cover. 

As  a  result  of  such  measures,  range 
deterioration  has  been  stopped,  and 
improvement  in  plant  cover  has  been 
accomplished  on  many  areas.  There 
is  still  much  to  do  throughout  the 
West  to  restore  range  and  watershed 
areas  to  a  desirable  condition  through 
improved  management,  reseeding, 
construction  of  improvements,  and  in 
some  cases  adjustments  in  livestock 
use. 

Most  of  us  love  the  outdoors.  For 
ages  man  has  enjoyed  hunting,  fish- 
ing, picnicking,  camping,  and  other 
forms  of  outdoor  recreation.  Fifty 
years  ago  recreation  use  of  the  Na- 
tional Forests  was  light,  and  there 
were  no  special  problems  connected 
with  such  use,  except  that  people  us- 
ing the  outdoors  caused  many  forest 
fires. 

As  population  has  grown  and  lei- 
sure time  has  increased,  outdoor  rec- 
reation has  become  more  popular. 
About  thirty-nine  million  visits  were 
made  to  the  National  Forests  for 
various  forms  of  recreation  in  1954. 
Problems  have  developed  connected 
with  providing  adequate  recreation 
facilities,  fire  prevention,  and  sanita- 

648 


tion  which  are  only  partially  solved. 
However,  it  was  recognized  years  ago 
that  recreation  use  on  the  National 
Forests  must  be  carefully  planned  and 
managed,  and  in  this  activity,  also, 
much  progress  has  been  made.  Those 
desiring  summer  home  sites  are  as- 
signed the  more  remote  areas  not  well 
suited  for  the  development  of  public 
campgrounds  in  keeping  with  the 
principle  of,  ".  .  .  the  greatest  good  of 
the  greatest  number.  .  .  ."  Some  re- 
mote tracts  of  rugged  country  have 
been  set  aside  as  wilderness  areas, 
never  to  be  despoiled  by  roads  or  com- 
mercial developments. 

Those  whose  memories  go  back  to 
1905  will  recall  that  deer  and  elk  were 
not  nearly  so  plentiful  as  now.  Big 
game  numbers  were  at  low  ebb.  A 
combination  of  progressive  manage- 
ment practices,  including  the  buck 
law,  restricted  hunting  seasons,  pre- 
vention of  poaching,  reduction  in 
predators,  and  improved  forage  condi- 
tions brought  about  increases  in  num- 
bers of  big  game  that  were  gradual  at 
first  and  then  very  rapid  in  many  lo- 
calities. Some  areas  have  been  over- 
populated  with  deer  and  elk  resulting 
in  heavy  losses  in  winter  from  malnu- 
trition, in  over-grazing  of  ranges  and 
watersheds,  and  undue  competition 
with  domestic  stock  for  use  of  the 
forage. 

During  the  past  twenty-five  years 
advancement  has  been  made  in  the 
application  of  sound  game  man- 
agement by  State  Fish  and  Game 
Commissions,  by  an  enlightened, 
broadminded  attitude  of  sportsmen's 
organizations,    and    by    co-operative 


THE    ROCK    IN    A    STORM 

By  S.  Roy  Chipman 

"Over  since  time  began  upon  the  earth, 
■*— '  One  said,  "There  shall  be  sunshine  and 

storm"; 
And  when  the  storm  clouds  gather  and  the 

skies  grow  gray, 
If  you  will  look  up,  He  will  show  you  the 

way. 

And  he  shall  be  an  hiding  place  from  the 

wind, 
If  men   will   set   their   feet   upon   his    rock; 
A  covert  from  the  tempest  shall  he  be, 
To  all  who  seek  and  sincerely  knock. 

He  shall  be  as  springs  of  water  in  a  dry 
place, 

To  weary  ones  who  kneel  in  prayer  and 
seek    his    grace; 

As  a  shelter  of  a  great  rock  in  a  storm- 
ridden  land, 

To  all  who  follow  and  heed  his  command. 


approach  to  the  solution  of  wildlife 
management  problems  among  the 
sportsmen,  by  these  groups  as  well  as 
the  federal  land  management  agen- 
cies. Private  owners  of  land  where 
some  of  the  game  live  generally  have 
had  a  commendatory  attitude  toward 
the  production  of  wildlife  and  enjoy- 
ment of  hunting  and  fishing  by  the 
public. 

Fish  management  has  also  pro- 
gressed, and  though  fishing  has  great- 
ly increased,  improved  hatchery 
methods  and  stepped-up  fish  planting 
programs  have  kept  pace  reasonably 
well.  The  improvement  of  water- 
shed conditions  has  helped  much,  for 
gouging  of  streambeds  by  floods  and 
excessive  sediment  in  streams  are  seri- 
ous detriments  to  fishing. 

The  story  of  progress  in  multiple- 
use  forestry  would  not  be  complete 
without  mention  of  the  contribution  of 
research.  Through  the  years  research 
has  been  con-ducted  in  management 
of  water,  soils,  timber,  range,  and 
wildlife,  and  in  fire  control  and  com- 
bating destructive  insects  and  diseases. 
The  findings  of  research  have  guided 
the  managers  of  wildlands,  and  have 
helped  the  users  of  the  natural  re- 
sources better  to  understand  why  im- 
proved management  practices,  and 
sometimes  curtailment  in  use,  are 
necessary. 

It  should  be  stated,  too,  that  one 
of  the  most  important  elen:  :nts  of 
progress  has  been  the  growinj  pub- 
lic appreciation  of  the  value  of  natural 
resources  and  the  need  for  the  co-op- 
eration of  everyone  in  providing  pro- 
tection and  good  management. 

The  past  is  but  a  prelude  to  the  fu- 
ture. We  know,  from  fifty  years  of 
history,  that  the  principles  of  pro- 
tection and  wise  use  of  the  natural 
resources,  sustained  yield,  multiple 
use,  and  settling  conflicts  in  use  on 
the  basis  of,  ".  .  .  the  greatest  good  of 
the  greatest  number  in  the  long  run 
.  .  ."  are  sound.  We  know  that  the 
people  will  become  increasingly  more 
dependent  on  the  resources  of  their 
National  Forests  to  provide  security 
and  abundant  living.  Much  has  been 
learned  and  much  has  been  accom- 
plished in  the  past  fifty  years,  but 
much  remains  to  be  done  to  restore 
and  protect  the  resources  fully,  and 
to  make  maximum  use  of  them.  By 
united  effort,  the  next  fifty  years  will 
see  even  greater  progress  in  multiple 
use  forestry. 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


Sorry,  Soldier,  No  Letter  Today 


i 


We  received  our  basic  training 
from  the  greatest  instructors  this 
world  shall  ever  know,  our  par- 
ents. In  our  youth  we  were  taught 
the  gospel,  and  we  realize  here  in  the 
armed  service  and  so  far  from  home 
it  truly  is  being  put  to  the  test. 

Apostle  Paul  was  a  great  teacher 
also  and  converted  many  to  the  faith, 
organizing  them  into  branches  of  the 
church.  But  he  certainly  demon- 
strated by  his  many  inspiring  letters 
to  the  Saints  that  he  by  no  means  felt 
his  teaching  mission  complete.  He 
could  not  be  with  his  loved  ones,  but 
by  communicating  with  them  he  con- 
tinued to  build  their  faith. 

Letters  from  home  bring  us  coun- 
sel   and    sound    advice    from    loving 


It  has  been  said,  "Words  can  sting 
like  anything,  but  silence  breaks  the 
heart." 

teachers  whom  we  respect  and  ad- 
mire. If  we  are  feeling  lonely  and 
blue,  such  a  letter  gives  us  the  lift 
we  need.  It  is  sacred  in  the  morale- 
building  boost  it  gives  us.  The  en- 
couragement and  counsel  it  brings 
and  the  feeling  of  gratitude  and  desire 
it  gives  us  to  honor  the  sender  is 
eternal  in  its  effect. 

W/e  are  building  for  eternity,  not 
™  just  for  this  life.  A  word  of 
written  love  and  counsel,  at  the  right 
time,  can  very  well  be  eternal  in  its 
effect.  Generations  from  now  could 
benefit  from  just  such  a  small,  sin- 
cere message.  The  person  receiving 
SEPTEMBER  1955 


by  Paul  D.  McBride 

such  a  message  could  very  possibly 
owe  his  privilege  of  exaltation  and 
eternal  happiness,  in  the  presence  of 
God,  to  the  thoughtful  person  who 
remembered  to  write. 

More  than  once,  just  following 
mail  call  (letters  from  home),  I  have 
heard  a  buddy  say,  "I  think  I'll  write 
a  letter  and  go  to  the  movie  on  post, 

rather  than  go 
downtown  to- 
night." When 
you  see  one  of 
your  fellow  bud- 
dies sit  on  the 
edge  of  his  bunk 
with  a  letter  in 
his  hand  and 
gaze  into  space 
with  a  pleasant  smile  on  his  face, 
you  can  rest  assured  he  has  something 
praiseworthy  or  of  good  report  on  his 
mind. 

V/ou  never  forget  the  covenants,  but 
-*■  you  can  forget  for  whom  you  are 
living  them.  In  the  first  place,  you 
live  the  commandments  to  glorify 
your  Heavenly  Father,  but  very  close 
to  this  reason  you  keep  the  command- 
ments, in  order  to  honor  your  family 
and  loved  ones.  You  know  this  is 
what  they  want  you  to  do.  Each  let- 
ter reminds  you  of  them,  and  in  your 
heart  as  you  read  their  letters  you 
say,  "I  will  return  to  them  as  clean 
as  the  day  I  left." 


It  has  been  said,  "Words  can  sting 
like  anything,  but  silence  breaks  the 
heart."  Any  word  from  home  is  bet- 
ter than  none  at  all.  Heartbreak, 
more  commonly  referred  to  as  a  "dear 
John"  or  some  other  disappointment, 
is  nothing  compared  to  losing  a  loved 
one  through  a  spiritual  death  brought 
about  by  unclean  living. 

Loss  of  contact  and  communica- 
tion with  those  who  are  "living  for 
eternity"  sows  the  seeds  that  can  re- 
sult in  spiritual  death.  A  negligent 
reply  or  simply  continually  pro- 
crastinating the  writing  of  that  letter 
is  well  defined  as  a  sin  of  omission. 

About  three  months  ago  a  small 
-^*-  package  arrived  for  our  group, 
and  upon  opening  it  we  found  a 
church  book  of 
commentaries 
on  the  Book  of 
Mormon.  It  was 
a  giftfrom 
an  LDS  brother 
with  whom  we 
had  no  former 
acquaintance. 
A  note  thank- 
ing him  for  the 
gift  and  com- 
menting on 
how    useful    it 

was  to  us  LDS  men  brought  three 
more  excellent   church   books   and   a 
letter  of  explanation.    Our  new  book 
(Continued  on  page  662) 


— Photos  by  U  S  Army  Air  Force 
'The  only  time  I  have  ever  seen  a  G.  I.  late  for  chow  was  during  mail  call." 

649 


-A  Camera  Clix  Photo 


Jesus  said:  "After  my  departing  shall  grievous  wolves  enter  in  among  you,  not  sparing 
the  flock."  (Acts  20:29.)  The  above  picture  portrays  the  martyrdom  of  10,000  Christians 
under  King  Sapor  of  Persia. 

Tvi/o  Vtews. 
of  Church  History 


by  Dr.  Hugh  Nibley 

BRIGHAM  YOUNG  UNIVERSITY 

Part  III 


To  claim  that  the  true  Church  is 
immune  to  corruption  no  matter 
how  much  it  changes  is  to  hold  all 
the  warnings  of  the  Lord  and  the 
apostles  in  contempt.  They  felt  no 
such  confidence:  "For  if  God  spared 
not  the  angels  .  .  ."  what  guarantee 
of  immunity  can  men  expect?  (II 
Pet.  2:4ff;  Jude  5ff.)  "For  it  is  im- 
possible," writes  Paul,  "for  those  who 
were  once  enlightened,  and  have 
tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift,  and  were 
made  partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
And  have  tasted  the  good  word  of 
God,  and  the  powers  of  the  world  to 
come.  .  .  ."  (Heb.  6:4-5.) 

At  this  point  let  us  pause  and  ask 
any  Christian,  or,  for  that  matter 
any  thinking  man,  to  finish  the  sen- 
tence for  us:  just  what  is  impossible 
650 


for  people  so  richly  endowed?  If  the 
sixth  chapter  of  Hebrews  were  a*rag- 
mentary  text  broken  off  at  this  place, 
any  thoughtful  individual  could  sup- 
ply the  conclusion:  obviously  Paul  is 
reassuring  the  saints,  telling  them  that 
it  is  quite  impossible — unthinkable,  in 
fact — for  those  who  have  already 
qualified  for  every  earthly  blessing 
plus  the  sure  earnest  of  the  world  to 
come — it  is  impossible  for  such  ever 
to  be  lost.  "Reason  itself"  demands 
such  a  conclusion,  but  it  is  all  wrong 
— the  rest  of  the  sentence  administers 
a  stinging  rebuke  to  Christian  com- 
placency: It  is  impossible,  the  writer 
continues,  for  those  so  blessed  "If 
they  shall  fall  away,  to  renew  them 
again  unto  repentance;  .  .  ."  (Ibid., 
6:6.)  The  falling  away  is  a  one-way 
process;  it  cannot  be  reversed.    Heav- 


enly powers  and  gifts  once  lost  can 
only  come  again 

.  .  .  when  the  times  of  refreshing  shall 
come  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord; 

...  the  times  of  the  restitution  of  all 
things,  .  .  .  (Acts  3:19,  21.) 

The  heavenly  inheritance  can  be 
lost,  even  to  the  saints;  and  no  matter 
how  they  may  seek  it  "carefully  and 
with  tears,"  once  it  is  gone  they  shall 
"seek  and  not  find." 

The  great  apostasy  did  not  happen 
consciously.  The  mentally  ill  ("O 
foolish  Galatians,  who  hath  bewitched 
you"?  [Gal.  3:1])  do  not  know  what 
is  wrong  with  them  or  when  it  hap- 
pened. What  the  apostles  denounce 
most  strenuously  in  their  letters  is 
the  complete  complacency  and  self- 
satisfaction  of  the  perverters:  ".  .  . 
lovers  of  their  own  selves,  covetous, 
boasters,  proud.  .  .  .  Traitors,  heady, 
'highminded,  .  .  ."  (II  Tim.  3:2ff.) 
No  lack  of  assurance  here! 

Like  the  slinging  of  a  noose,  the 
end  comes  silently,  quietly,  without 
warning,  so  that  the  victim  never  sus- 
pects what  is  happening,  being  the 
while  wholly  preoccupied  with  "the 
cares  of  this  life."  (Luke  21:34.)  It 
is  not  a  process  of  founding  new  in- 
stitutions that  the  scriptures  describe, 
but  one  of  becoming:  "love  shall  turn 
to  hate,"  "evil  men  and  seducers  shall 
wax  worse  and  worse,"  (II  Tim. 
3:13),  "iniquity  shall  increase,"  "the 
sheep  of  the  fold  shall  turn  into 
wolves,"  (Didache) — but  go  right  on 
calling  themselves  sheep!  The  false 
claimants  never  give  up  "Having  a 
form  of  godliness,  but  denying  the 
power  thereof.  .  .  ."  (II  Tim.  3:5.) 
The  end  was  never  formally  declared 
(heaven  forbid!);  in  the  words  of 
Polycarp,  "the  lights  went  out." 

What,  then,  was  "the  end"?  The 
Bible  has  a  good  deal  to  say  on  the 
subject,  and  scholars  have  had  a  great 
deal  more.  At  present  we  are  con- 
sidering only  the  former.  On  the 
mountain  of  the  transfiguration  Peter, 
James,  and  John,  having  just  beheld 
Elias  in  conversation  with  the  Lord 
and  Moses,  were  told  that  Elias  would 
at  some  time  come  and  "restore  all 
things,"  though  he  had  already  come 
and  been  rejected.  (Matt.  17:11-12.) 
It  was  further  explained  that  the  Son 
of  Man  would  suffer  the  same  rejec- 
tion; and  later  on  Peter  declares  in  a 
sermon  that  Christ  would  come  again 
at  "the  times  of  the  restitution  of  all 
things."  (Acts  3:21;  italics  author's.) 
Some  time  after  that  the  same  Peter 
announces  to  the  church  that  "the 
THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


end  of  all  things  is  at  hand."  (I  Pet. 
4:7;  italics  author's.)  Here  we  have 
"all  things"  brought  to  earth,  "all 
things"  coming  to  an  end,  and  "all 
things"  restored  again.  "All  what 
things?"  we  ask,  for  the  world  itself 
seems  to  go  on.  Peter  gives  us  the 
answer:  ".  .  .  all  things  which  God 
hath  spoken  through  the  mouths  of 
his  holy  prophets  since  the  world  be- 
gan," (Acts  3:21,  italics  author's); 
"According  as  his  divine  power  hath 
given  unto  us  all  things  pertaining 
unto  life  and  godliness."  (II  Pet.  1:3, 
italics  author's.)  "All  things"  means 
the  fulness  of  the  gospel.  That  is 
what  passes  away  when  "the  end  of 
all  things  is  at  hand." 

The   apostles   speak  of   their  own 
times  as  the  end  of  the  world,  and  yet 
they  talk  of  more  history  to  follow: 
"Just  now  in  the  end  of  the  world 
hath  he  appeared  .  .  .  and  unto  them 
that  look  for  him  shall  he  appear  a 
second  time.  .  .  ."  (See  Heb.  9:26,  28.) 
Now  is  here  "the  end  of  the  world," 
and  yet  it  is  to  be  followed  by  a  time 
of    waiting     and    expectation,     after 
which   the   Lord   will    appear   again. 
Plainly  with  "the  end  of  the  world," 
the  whole  story  is  not  told.    Literally 
"end  of  the  world"  here  means  "con- 
summation of  the  periods,  or  aeons." 
The  word  aeon  appears  over  a  hun- 
dred   times    in    the   New   Testament, 
nearly  always  as  the  equivalent  of  the 
Hebrew   'olam   ha-zeh,   "the    age   in 
which  we  live."     An  aeon  is,  strictly 
speaking,  a  world  period,  and  hence 
was   sometimes   loosely   employed   to 
refer  to  this  world  of  ours,  our  times, 
the  wicked  world,  etc.     But  never  is 
the  sense  of  a  limited  span  of  time 
completely  absent  when  this  word  is 
employed:    one   can   stretch    a   point 
and  translate  "the  completion  of  the 
aeon"    as    "the   end    of   the   world," 
but  only  if  it  is  understood  that  the 
"world"  referred  to  is  not  necessarily 
the   physical    earth    or    the    physical 
universe  but  the  present  age  of  men. 
When  Christ  met  with  the  eleven 
by  special  appointment  on  a  mountain 
in    Galilee    (Matt.    28:16),    he   sent 
them  out  with  instructions  to  "teach 
all  nations  ...  to  carry  out  all  the 
instructions  he  had  given  them,"  and 
gave  his  messengers  the  promise,  "be- 


hold I  am  with  you  every  day  until 
the   completion   of   the   period"    (see 
vv.  1 9-20) .    The  "Great  Commission" 
is  not  an  unlimited  call  to  everyone, 
but  specifically  and  privately  to  the 
eleven;  it  is  not  an  order  for  them  to 
tell  all  men  whatever  they  had  heard, 
but  simply  to  instruct  them  to  carry 
out  certain  specific  orders   (the  lan- 
guage   is    technical    and    military); 
above  all,  it  is  not  a  promise  that  the 
Lord  is  going  to  stay  in  the  world  for- 
ever and  ever  or,  as  John  Chrysostom 
desperately    translates    it,    "for    ages 
without    end";   aeon   is   here   in    the 
singular;  a  definite  limit  is  placed  on 
the  Savior's  personal  support,  which 
is    to   be   enjoyed   until   the   apostles 
have  finished  their  work:   "until  the 
completion    (syntelesis)    of  the  aeon, 
or  period."     There  is  going  to  be  an 
end:  the  Lord  said  he  would  send  his 
apostles  out  to  preach  to  all  the  world 
for  a  witness,  that  they  would  carry 
out  that  assignment,  "and  then  shall 
the  end  come."  (Ibid.,  24:14.)    Their 
mission,  like  the  Lord's,  was  indeed 
at  the  end  of  the  world.    There  is  no 
more  firmly  established  belief  or  more 
ancient  tradition  in  Christendom  than 
the  conviction  that  the  apostles  them- 
selves   actually    did    carry    out    their 
mission,    the   Lord,   as   he   promised, 
"working  with  them,  and  confirming 
the  word  with  signs  following."  (Mark 
16:20.)     When  every  man  on  Pente- 
cost heard  the  gospel  preached  in  his 
own    tongue,    Peter    announced    that 
this   was    actually   the   fulfilment   of 

that  which  was  spoken  by  the  prophet 
Joel; 

...  in  the  last  days,  saith  God,  I  will 
pour  out  of  my  Spirit  upon  all  flesh.  .  .  . 
(Acts  2:16-17.) 

These  were  the  last  days,  the  gospel 
actually  had  been  preached  to  all 
flesh,  the  prophecy  was  fulfilled,  and 
the  end  could  come.  For  the  proph- 
ecy was  that  before  the  apostles  could 
be  put  to  death,  "the  gospel  must 
first  be  published  among  all  nations." 
(Mark  13:9f,  italics  author's.)  The 
apostles  themselves  complete  the 
whole  work  of  the  dispensation;  after 
them  comes  not  the  beginning — but 
the  end.  The  clear  statement  of  the 
Lord,  that  ".  .  .  This  generation  shall 


SEPTEMBER  1955 


not  pass  away,  till  all  be  fulfilled" 
(Luke  21:32),  is  enough  in  itself  to 
settle  the  issue:  either  Jesus  was  a 
false  prophet,  or  the  end  did  come. 

Why  did  the  early  Christians  express 
the  keen  and  anxious  concern 
they  did  for  "signs  of  the  times"? 
Why  did  they  diligently  study  the 
times  and  seasons  and  everlastingly 
ask  the  Lord  and  the  Apostles,  "When 
will  it  be?"  (Cf.  Acts  1:7.)  It  is  be- 
cause they  were  expecting  an  end 
and  had  been  instructed  to  watch 
even  until  the  end.  Their  attitude 
would  have  been  hard  to  understand 
if  they  had  ever  been  given  reason 
to  believe  that  the  church  had  been 
established,  once  and  for  all,  to  re- 
main firm  and  steadfast  until  the  end 
of  the  world. 

It  has  often  been  noted  that  the 
ancient  Christians  professed  two  ex- 
pectations: one  an  expectation  of  bliss, 
the  other  an  expectation  of  woe.     In 
their  calendar  the  woe  was  to  come 
first.      Paul    explains    the    situation 
when  he  reminds  the  Thessalonians 
that  they  must  indeed  look  forward 
to    "the    coming   of   our    Lord   Jesus 
Christ,    and    our    gathering   together 
unto  him,"  but  not  be  deceived  into 
thinking  "that  the  day  of  Christ  is 
at    hand,"    since    before    that    could 
come    there    must    come    "a    falling 
away  first,  and  that  man  of  sin  be 
revealed,   the  son   of  perdition."    (II 
Thess.    2:  Iff.)      And   Peter   reminds 
the   church,    "first,    that    there   shall 
come  in  the  last  days  scoffers,  walking 
after  their  own  lusts,"  and  only  later 
will    the    Lord    come,    being    mean- 
while "not  slack  concerning  the  prom- 
ise," since  "one  day  is  with  the  Lord 
as  a  thousand  years.  .  .  ."  (II  Peter 
3:3ff.)     The  joy  is  coming,  but  first 
the  woe.     There  are  ends  and  other 
ends.     The  "signs  of  the  times"  are 
significant    because    things    follow    a 
pattern:    "Whenever    you    see    these 
events,"  says  the  Lord,  stating  a  gen- 
eral rule  in  a  present  general  condi- 
tion, "you  know  that  the  kingdom  of 
God  is  nigh  at  hand  .  .  ."  (See  Luke 
21:31);  for  example,  "you  look  at  the 
trees,  and  whenever  they  now  shoot 
forth,  ye  see  and  know  of  your  own 
selves   that  summer  is  now  nigh   at 
hand"    (See    vv.    29-30,    italics    au- 
thor's.)     It   is    a    characteristic    and 
repeated    event,    this     "end    of     all 
things"  and  "restitution  of  all  things," 
which  we  shall  discuss   in  the  next 

(Continued  on  following  page) 

651 


TWO  VIEWS  OF  CHURCH  HISTORY 


(Continued  from  preceding  page) 
section.  Whose  coming  was  expected 
by  the  saints?  The  Lord's,  according 
to  some  accounts,  the  adversary's,  ac- 
cording to  others.  Why  should  this 
be  a  cause  (as  it  has  been)  of  fero- 
cious controversy?  Plainly  they  ex- 
pected both;  and  not  at  one  and  the 
same  time,  but  first  the  deceiver,  and 
then  the  Lord. 

After  the  Lord  left  the  world,  who 
came  next?  "The  prince  of  this  world, 
and  hath  nothing  in  me."  Who  is 
to  follow  up  the  work  of  the  Apostles 
if  they  are  "sent  last"  and  "the  end" 
is  to  come  when  they  have  completed 
their  work?  Who  indeed:  ".  .  .  after 
my  departing  shall  grievous  wolves 
enter  in  among  you,  not  sparing  the 
flock."  (Acts  20:29.)  Those  are  the 
only  "successors"  mentioned.  Who  is 
to  take  over  the  place  when  Peter 
leaves  it?  "The  devil  .  .  .  abroad  as  a 
ravening  lion,"  completely  on  the 
loose.  When  John  announces,  "Little 
children,  it  is  the  last  time,"  is  he 
expecting  the  Lord?  On  the  con- 
trary: ".  .  .  even  now  there  are  many 
antichrists;  whereby  we  know  that  it 
is  the  last  time."  (I  John  2:18.)  You 
know  the  last  time  is  here  because 
"the  mystery  of  iniquity  doth  already 
work,"  and  his  work  is  only  temporar- 
ily held  up  by  an  opponent  who  is 
presently  to  be  "taken  out  of  the 
way."  (II  Thess.  2:7.) 

As  modern  scholars,  Catholic  and 
Protestant,  are  beginning  to  realize 
(we  shall  discuss  them  later),  the 
prospects  were  not  brilliant:  "When 
the  Son  of  man  cometh,  shall  he  find 
faith  on  the  earth?"  (Luke  18:8.)  It 
was  a  dark  interval  that  lay  ahead, 
"the  Wintertime  of  the  Just,"  they 
called  it  in  the  ancient  church.  There 
is  a  real  element  of  tragedy  here;  the 
tears  of  the  Lord  and  the  Apostles 
were  genuine.  Paul  does  not  warn 
constantly  and  with  tears  for  the 
sake  of  a  few  inevitable  crackpots  and 
backsliders:  the  "wicked  one"  is 
"coming  with  all  powers  and  signs 
and  lying  wonders,"  (II  Thess.  2:9); 
the  night  is  coming  when  no  man  can 
work,  the  time  which  the  closing  lines 
of  Didache  describe  as  the  long  ordeal 
of  the  human  race.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  the  early  Christians  were 
convinced  that  the  glorious  final  act 
of  the  drama  would  not  be  played 
"before  the  time."  No  city  ever  had  a 
better  chance  of  hearing  the  gospel 

652 


than  Capernaum;  no  city  ever  re- 
jected it  more  completely;  according- 
ly, "in  the  day  of  judgment"  Caper- 
naum "shall  be  thrust  down  to  hell." 
But  meantime,  what  is  the  status  of 
the  cursed  city  to  be?  Quite  mag- 
nificent: "exalted  to  heaven."  (Matt. 
11:23-24,  Luke  10:15.)  That  "mean- 
while" is  the  second  act  of  the  drama, 
and  it  lasts  until  the  judgment. 

If  one  is  determined  to  believe  that 
the  primary  intent  and  purpose  of 
the  missions  of  Christ  and  the  Apos- 
tles was  the  setting  up  on  the  earth 
of  a  mighty  institution  of  sure  salva- 
tion for  all,  "to  remain  firm  and  stead- 
fast until  the  end  of  the  world"  (to 
use  the  proud  formula  of  1870 — in  the 
absence  of  any  appropriate  scripture!), 
then  the  negative  course  of  things  so 
clearly  indicated  in  the  Bible  was  a 
terrible  mistake.  Common  sense  re- 
bels against  the  dismal  prospect  of  the 
whole  earth  being  given  into  the 
hands  of  "the  one  who  leads  the 
world  astray,"  (as  the  Didache  puts 
it) — it  is  a  hard  thing  to  take.  And 
that  is  exactly  why  all  the  prophets 
of  the  New  Testament  urge  the  saints 
continually  not  to  take  the  common 
sense  point  of  view  in  the  matter: 
"In  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribula- 
tion: but  be  of  good  cheer!"  Is  that 
common  sense?  "Now  is  the  day  of 
salvation,"  Paul  cries  joyfully,  de- 
scribing the  day  as  one  of  afflictions, 
necessities,  distresses,  stripes,  im- 
prisonments, tumults,  labors,  watch- 
ings,  fastings — "as  sorrowful,  yet  al- 
way  rejoicing."  (II  Cor.  6:10.)  It 
seems  like  anything  but  fun  or  good 
sense.  As  to  the  things  that  common 
sense  values,  Paul  says,  "I  count  them 
but  dung,  just  so  I  win  Christ." 
Worldly  standards  are  utterly  mis- 
leading. Hear  what  Peter,  James,  and 
John  have  to  say: 

Note  the  emphasis  in  Peter's  epis- 
tles on  the  evil  times  ahead  and  the 
postponement  of  blessings  for  a 
definite  interval:  "[Ye]  are  kept  .  .  . 
unto  salvation,  ready  to  be  revealed 
in  the  last  time.  Wherein  ye  greatly 
rejoice,  though  now  for  a  season,  if 
need  be,  ye  are  in  heaviness  .  .  . 
(expecting)  praise  and  honour  and 
glory  at  the  appearing  of  Jesus  Christ. 
.  .  ."  (Cf.  I  Peter  1:5-7.)  "Be  sober, 
and  hope  to  the  end  for  the  grace 
that  is  to  be  brought  unto  you  at  the 
revelation  of  Jesus  Christ  (Ibid., 
1:13.)  .  .  .  Pass  the  time  of  your  so- 


journing here  in  fear  (Ibid.,  1:17.) 
.  .  .  Beloved,  think  it  not  strange  con- 
cerning the  fiery  trial  which  is  to  try 
you,  as  though  some  strange  thing 
happened  unto  you: 

"But  rejoice,  inasmuch  as  ye  are 
partakers  of  Christ's  suffering;  that 
when  his  glory  shall  be  revealed,  ye 
may  be  glad.  .  .  .   (Ibid.,  4:12-13.) 

".  .  .  the  God  of  all  grace  .  .  .  hath 
called  us  unto  his  eternal  glory  .  .  . 
after  that  ye  have  suffered  a  while.  . .  .. 
(Ibid.,  5:10.) 

".  .  .  Humble  yourselves  .  .  .  that 
God  may  exalt  you  in  due  time  (Ibid., 
5:6);"  etc.  The  unpleasant  interval 
is  not  to  be  taken  seriously,  "For  all 
flesh  is  as  grass,  .  .  ."  (Ibid.,  1:24); 
we  are  merely  "strangers  and  pil- 
grims" here  (Ibid.,  2:11);  it  is  a 
frightening  prospect,  but  "if  you  will 
it  shall  be  as  nothing."  Peter  preaches 
a  thoroughgoing  exchange  of  earthly 
values  for  heavenly  values. 

James  (4:4)  does  not  mince  words: 
"Know  ye  not,  that  friendship  of  the 
world  is  enmity  with  God?  whoso- 
ever, therefore,  will  be  a  friend  of  the 
world  is  the  enemy  of  God."  Nor 
does  John:  "Love  not  the  world 
neither  the  things  that  are  in  the 
world.  If  any  man  love  the  world, 
the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him. 
For  all  that  is  in  the  world  ...  is  not 
of  the  Father,  but  is  of  the  world.  And 
the  world  passeth  away,  and  the  lusts 
thereof.  (I  John  2:15-17.)  Marvel 
not,  my  brethren,  if  the  world  hate 
you.  .  .  . 

"We  are  of  God:  he  that  knoweth 
God,  heareth  us;  he  that  is  not  of 
God,  heareth  nQt  us.  .  .  .  And  we 
know  that  we  are  of  God,  and  the 
world  lieth  in  wickedness.  .  .  ."  (Ibid., 
3:13;  4:6;  5:19.) 

These  were  truly  the  disciples  of 
the  Lord  who  said,  "Woe  unto  you, 
when  all  men  shall  speak  well  of  you! 
for  so  did  their  fathers  to  the  false 
prophets."  (Luke  6:26.)  There  is  no 
place  here  for  a  popular  program.  The 
whole  consolation  of  the  saints  is  in 
the  resurrection  and  glory  to  come, 
".  .  .  whether  we  wake  or  sleep.  .  .  . 
Wherefore  comfort  yourselves.  .  .  ." 
(I  Thess.  5:10-11.)  There  is  a  com- 
plete disconcern  for  the  possible  suc- 
cess or  failure  of  the  church  on  earth, 
and  a  total  silence  on  the  subject  of 
future  generations — never  a  thought 
of  that  "inevitable  triumph"  which 
later  church  historians  were  to  insist 
THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


should  have  been  their  chief  conso- 
lation. ".  .  .  The  foundation  of  God 
standeth  sure,"  not  in  a  visible  institu- 
tion of  salvation,  but  "having  this 
seal,  The  Lord  knoweth  them  that 
are  his."  (II  Tim.  2:19.)  Every  op- 
portunity to  play  up  the  church  is 
passed  by  in  silence. 

The  values  of  the  early  Christians 
were  not  common  sense  values.  The 
translators  of  the  King  James  Version 
use  the  word  lusts  for  the  Greek 
epithumia,  which  means  "desire,  in- 
terest, value,"  in  the  broadest  sense, 
and  thus  make  it  appear  that  all  that 
John  is  condemning  is  vice  and  de- 
pravity, whereas  actually  he  is  re- 
nouncing all  earthly  values  good  and 
bad.  The  Christian  point  of  view 
was  not  that  of  another  philosophy; 
it  administered  a  severe  shock  to  in- 
telligent people— "a  slap  in  the  face," 
to  use  Karl  Holl's  apt  expression. 
Thinking  people  were  not  just 
amused,  they  were  "scandalized"  (a 
favorite  word)  and  enraged,  sickened, 
and  disgusted;  Tacitus,  Celsus,  Cae- 
cilius,  and  the  Jewish  and  pagan  pro- 
fessors cannot  think  of  words  strong 
enough  to  express  their  loathing  and 
alarm. 

Here  we  have  two  systems  of  values 
totally  and  hopelessly  opposed  to  each 
other.  The  things  Jesus  talked  about 
were  entirely  outside  the  range  of 
normal  human  thought  and  experi- 
ence; in  time  their  reality  was  to  be 
made  manifest  to  all,  but  meanwhile 
their  rejection  was  to  be  emphatic 
and  complete,  and  pagans  could  em- 
barrass Christians  by  chanting  about 
"Jesus  the  King  who  never  ruled!"  A 
triumphant  rule  and  a  triumphant 
church  were  not  on  the  program,  but 
the  world  would  settle  for  nothing 
less,  and  of  course  the  world  got  what 
it  wanted — a  church  modeled  after 
its  idea  of  what  a  church  should  be. 
Such  an  institution  was  as  clearly 
prophesied  as  was  the  passing  away 
of  the  true  church. 

(To  be  continued) 


INNER  SIGHT 

By  Janet  Moore 

I  ove  is  not  blind  as  slander  claims 
But  knows  the  crystal  gazer's  art 
Of  probing  through  the  faulty  shell 
Others  interpret  as  the  heart. 

There  within  the  concealing  mask, 
By  some  unwritten  miracle 
Love  divines  the  truer  self, 
Gracious,  tall,  and  beautiful. 
SEPTEMBER  1955 


Only  LUMBERJACK  SYRUP 

mates  'em  taste  so  GOOD! 


653 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON 


(Continued  from  page  639) 

Europeans,  as  are  constantly  exposed  to  the 
inclemency  and  alterations  of  the  weather.21 

Regarding  the  Haida  Indians  of 
Queen  Charlotte  Island,  Hubert 
Howe  Bancroft  in  1875  reported  that 
"The  few  who  have  seen  their  faces 
free  from  paint  pronounce  their  com- 
plexion light.  .  .  ."22  Bancroft  then 
quoted  Poole,  who  claimed  that  he 
observed  that  their  skin  was  "nearly 
as  white  as  ours,"23  and  Bendel,  who 
held  it  to  be  "of  a  remarkable  light 
color."24  Gilbert  Malcolm  Sproat 
maintained  that  "Their  young  wom- 
en's skins  are  as  clear  and  white  as 
those  of  Englishwomen."25  Horatio 
Hale  found  some  of  those  coastal  is- 
landers "fair  in  complexion,  some- 
times with  ruddy  cheeks."26  Speaking 
of  the  Haidas,  Niblack  (1888)  wrote: 

In  complexion  both  sexes  are  surprisingly 
light  colored.  This  is  in  no  way  due  to 
intermixture  with  whites.  .  .  .  The  Haidas 
are  markedly  fairer  skinned  than  the 
others,  .  .  ,27 

Ordinarily  the  hair  of  the  American 
Indian  is  straight,  coarse,  and  black, 
but  it  has  been  observed  by  various 
writers  that  the  white  Indians'  hair 
ofttimes  diverges  from  the  norm,  be- 
ing soft  and  wavy,  and  sometimes  au- 
burn and  brown  in  color.28  A.  C. 
Haddon  pointed  out  that  the  hair  of 
the  northwestern  Indians  ".  .  .  is  fre- 
quently slightly  wavy  and  brownish 
.  .  .  there  are  a  few  tribes  among 
whom  red  hair  and  an  almost  white 
complexion  occur."20  According  to 
Thor  Heyerdahl,  Gilbert  M.  Sproat 
described 

...  a  local  Indian  woman  who  had 
"curly,  or  rather  wavy,  brown  hair,"  pointed 
out  that:  "Now  and  then,  but  rarely,  a  light- 
haired  native  is  seen";  .  .  .  and  Sutil  y 
Mexicana,  who  declared  that  the  hair  of 
these  aboriginals  "varied  in  colour  between 
reddish,  dark,  auburn,   and  black."30 

White  Indians  have  been  found  in 
other  parts  of  the  United  States,  as 
well  as  on  the  northwestern   Pacific 


21George  Vancouver,  A  Voyage  of  Discovery  to  the 
North  Pacific  Ocean  and  Around  the  World  (London, 
1798),   vol.  2,   p.   262. 

—Hubert  Howe  Bancroft,  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific 
States   (New  York,    1875),   vol.    1,   p.   157. 

2SFrancis  Poole,  Queen  Charlotte  Islands  (London, 
1872),   cited   in  Idem. 

2+Bendel,   cited   in  Idem. 

25Gilbert  Malcolm  Sproat,  Scenes  and  Studies  of 
Savage   Life    (London,    1868),    p.   24. 

26Horatio  Hale,  Ethnography  and  Philology  (Phila- 
delphia,   1846),   cited   in  Bancroft,   op.   cit.,   p.    157. 

27Niblack,  cited  in  Thor  Heyerdahl,  American  In- 
dians of  the  Pacific  (New  York,   1952),  p.  83. 

28Bancroft,    op.    cit.,    p.    157. 

29A.  C.  Haddon,  The  Races  of  Man  and  the  Dis- 
tribution   (New  York,    1924),    pp.   33,   128. 

^Sproat,    cited   in   Heyerdahl,    op.    cit.,    p.    85. 

654 


coast  region.  The  best  example  is  the 
Mandan  Indians  who  during  the 
colonial  period  inhabited  the  whole 
area  of  the  states  of  North  and  South 
Dakota,  Wisconsin,  and  Minnesota. 
White  farmers  did  not  settle  this  dis- 
trict until  the  middle  of  last  century, 
"shortly  after  the  Mandan  had  been 
wiped  out  by  a  small-pox  epidemic."31 
When  the  whites  first  discovered  the 
Mandan  Indians,  according  to  Paul 
Herrmann, 

.  .  .  About  a  fifth  of  this  strange  people 
were  white-skinned  and  blue-eyed.  Fair 
hair  was  also  not  infrequent,  and  the 
physiognomy  of  all  Mandan  was  entirely 
different  from  that  of  the  usual  Indian  type.32 

Early  during  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury rumors  of  a  tribe  of  white  In- 
dians (the  Mandans),  who  lived 
many  miles  away  in  the  western 
wilderness,  reached  the  Atlantic  sea- 
board explorers;  for  example,  as  early 
as  1615  Father  Champlain  wrote  in 
his  journal  about  them.  Later  Jean 
Nicolet  expected  to  find  white  In- 
dians on  his  trip  westward.  But 
probably  the  first  white  man  actually 
to  see  them  was  de  la  Verandrye,  a 
French  Canadian  fur  trader  and  ex- 
plorer. He  visited  the  Mandan  In- 
dians in  1738,  and  became  intimately 
acquainted  with  them.  This  personal 
contact  makes  his  report  historically 
valuable.  Verandrye  states  in  his 
diary: 

.  .  .  This  tribe  is  partly  white  and  partly 
red-skinned.  The  women  are  extremely 
beautiful,    especially   those    who    are   white, 

81Herrmann,    op.    cit.,    p.    175. 
s*Ibid.,    p.    176. 


DESERT  SYMPHONY 
By  Leona  Bammes  Gardner 

Gray    rocks    keeping    their    silent    watch. 
Gray  sand 
Whipped    by   the   dust-gray   wind.      Joshua 

trees 
Lifting  their  hairy  arms  in  the  torrid  breeze. 
Gray    clouds    above    gray   hills;    a    desolate 
land 

Where   small   gray  snakes   under   cool   gray 

stones   withstand 
The  blistering  heat;   and  lying   in  the  sun, 
Gray  lizards   blink,   then  seek  oblivion 
Beneath     gray     bushes,     by     gray     rabbits 

scanned. 

But  when  the  sun  touches  the  western  hills, 
Suffused  with  peach  and  gold,  a  cotton  boll 
Of  clouds  mirrors  a  rainbow.  Yucca  spills 
Fragrance  from  creamy  spikes.  An  aureole 
Of  pink  and  copper  rings  the  cactus  quills 
And  wraps  the  ragged  rocks  in  a  purple 
stole. 


some  of  whom  have  lovely  fair  hair.  Both 
men  and  women  are  very  industrious  and 
work  with  a  will.  Their  lodges  are  big  and 
spacious;  they  are  divided  into  several 
rooms  by  partitions  of  thick  planks.  .  .  . 
The  men  are  tall,  strong  and  courageous. 
They  are  very  active,  and  of  good  appear- 
ance with  pleasant  features.  Their  women 
do  not  look  in  the  least  Indian.33 

At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  an  American,  George  Catlin, 
spent  considerable  time  wandering 
among  these  Indians  and  studying 
them.    He  wrote: 

The  Mandans  are  certainly  a  very  inter- 
esting and  pleasing  people  in  their  personal 
appearance  and  manners;  differing  in  many 
respects,  both  in  looks  and  customs,  from 
all  other  tribes  which  I  have  seen.  .  .  . 

.  .  .  and  so  forcibly  have  I  been  struck 
with  the  peculiar  ease  and  elegance  of  these 
people,  together  with  the  diversity  of  com- 
plexions, the  various  colours  of  their  hair 
and  eyes;  the  singularity  of  their  language, 
and  their  peculiar  and  unaccountable  cus- 
toms, that  I  am  fully  convinced  that  they 
have  sprung  from  some  other  origin  than 
that  of  the  other  North  American  tribes,  .  .  . 

A  stranger  in  the  Mandan  village  is  first 
struck  by  the  different  shades  of  com- 
plexion, and  various  colours  of  hair  which 
he  sees  crowd  about  him;  and  he  is  at  once 
almost  disposed  to  exclaim  that  "these  are 
not   Indians." 

There  are  a  great  many  of  these  people 
whose  complexions  appear  as  light  as  half 
breeds;  and  amongst  the  women  particu- 
larly, there  are  many  whose  skins  are  al- 
most white,  with  the  most  pleasing  symmetry 
and  proportion  of  features;  with  hazel,  with 
grey,  and  with  blue  eyes— with  mildness 
and  sweetness  of  expression,  and  excessive 
modesty  of  demeanour,  which  render  them 
exceedingly  pleasing  and  beautiful.3* 

Writers  have  speculated  regarding 
the  origin  of  the  white  Mandan  In- 
dians. Catlin  suggested  "that  the 
Mandan  might  be  descended  from  the 
Welsh  king,  Madoc,  .  .  ."35  Some 
writers  have  suggested  Irish  settlers 
while  others  have  felt  that  the 
Scandinavian  Vikings  were  responsi- 
ble for  the  white  blood  among  the 
Mandan  Indians.  It  may  be  true  that 
occasionally  groups  of  Europeans 
came  to  America  and  intermarried 
with  the  Mandan  Indians,  but  Paul 
Herrmann  doubts  that  there  would 
have  been  a  sufficient  number  of 
Welsh,  Irish,  or  Vikings,  settle  in  this 
land,  according  to  available  informa- 
tion, to  completely  account  for  the 
white  blood  in  the  Mandans.  To 
quote  Herrmann: 

.  .  .  and  furthermore,  only  a  handful  of 
men,    whose    biological    force    cannot    have 

(Continued  on  page  656) 

33Verandrye,   cited  in   ibid.,   p.    177. 

3*George  Catlin,  The  North  American  Indians  .  .  . 
written  during  eight  years  travel  amongst  the  wildest 
tribes  of  Indians  in  North  America,  1832-1839  (Edin- 
burgh,  1926),  cited  in  Herrmann,  op.   cit..  p.   176. 

3°Ibid.,   p.    179. 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


*i 


Cherished 
Experiences 

Prom    Writings    of    Presi- 
dent  David    O.   McKay 
Compiled  by  Clare 
Middlemiss 
From  personal  contacts  with 
Saints  throughout  the  world 
have     come     faith-promoting 
experiences    which   President 
McKay  would   like   to   share 
with    all    Church    members. 

$3.00 


tyV  ■    ■■:■  ■:'      :       ...    ; 


The  Spirit 
Giveth  Life 

LYNN  A.  McKINLAY 

Those  who  enjoyed  Life 
Eternal  will  greatly  enjoy 
this  book  with  its  fresh  and 
different  approach  to  the 
First  Principles  of  the  Gos- 
pel. This  shows  how  the 
principles  of  faith,  repent- 
ance, baptism,  and  the  gift 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  apply  di- 
rectly to  daily  living.     $2.00 


ititfes  of 


FROM    THI    WWTI—-" 

DAVID  0.  MCK1Y 


&*?&*** 


ctARE   MiDOLEMlS: 


Prophecy  and 
Modern  Times 

W.  CLEON  SKOUSEN 

Today  and  the  future  are 
revealed  in  the  prophecies 
concerning  the  Millennium, 
the  second  coming  of  Christ, 
America,  and  Palestine.  This 
book  is  a  startling  reminder 
to  those  who  have  forgotten. 

$1.75 


Wttf 


toft*' 


M^r 


;i.    > 


1.  WHAT  OF  THE  MORMONS? 

Gordon  Hinckley — This  newly  revised  edition 
gives  an  excellent  introduction  to  Mormonism 
with  an  historical  sketch,  an  outline  of  the 
Church  and  its  functions  as  well  as  the  salient 
fatts  of  Latter-day  Saint  doctrine,  practice,  and 
history.  $1.50 


2.   KNOW  THE  BIBLE 

Benjamin  Alward — (Revised  and  Enlarged.)  This 
outstanding  book  approaches  a  complete  compre- 
hension of  the  Bible  through  answering  fifty- 
seven  vital  questions.  Brief  histories  are  given 
on  :  the  sixty-six  books  of  the  Bible,  the  Apocry- 
pha, the  Dead  Sea  scrolls,  Missing  Scriptures,  the 
Septuagint,  and  the  lapse  of  time  between  the 
Old    and    New    Testament.  $2.50 


3.   NOT  BY  BREAD  ALONE 

Bryant  S.  Hinckley — This  book  is  a  compilation 
of  short  articles  and  stories  expressing  the  ideals 
and  philosophy  of  one  who  has  lived  a  rich  and 
purposeful  life.  The  material  is  excellent  for 
those  preparing  lessons,  public  addresses,  or  short 
inspirational   talks.    Over    120   selections.  $1.50 


4.   PRIESTHOOD  AND  CHURCH 
GOVERNMENT 

John  A.  Widtsoe — Written  under  the  direction  of 
the  First  Presidency  by  the  late  John  A.  Widtsoe, 
this  book  has  been  recently  revised  and  brought 
up  to  date  by  the  General  Authorities.  It  gives 
a  rich  source  of  information  on  the  purpose  of 
the  Priesthood,  its  power  and  rights.  It  also 
gives  a  detailed  account  of  the  organization  of 
the    LDS    Church   and   the  principles   governing    it. 

$2.50 


5.  MILLIONS  OF  MEETINGS 

Harold  Glenn  Clark — Certain  procedures  are  suggested  in  this  book 
to  make  the  "millions  of  meetings"  conducted  annually  within 
the  LDS  Church  more  interesting  and  successful.  Dr.  Harold 
Glenn  Clark  of  Brigham  Young  University  is  well-qualified  as  an 
authority   on    this    subject.  $2.25 

6.  THE   FIRST  TWO  THOUSAND  YEARS 

W.  Cleon  Skousen — Many  of  the  eternal  questions  of  the  Old 
Testament  scriptures  are  discussed  and  explained  in  this  absorb- 
ing book.  Those  who  read  it  will  find  it  brings  a  greater  under- 
standing   of    Biblical   scriptures.  $3.25 


Doscret 


44  Fast  South  Temple    -  Salt  Lake  City.  Utah 


DESERET  BOOK  COMPANY 
44  East  South  Temple     Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 

Gentlemen: 

Enclosed     you     will     find     check     money 


order   charge   to    my   account   the   following 

for   the    encircled    (numbered    books): 

□  Cherished    Experiences 
D  The    Spirit    Giveth    Life 

□  Prophecy    and    Modern    Times 

12  3  4  5 


Name    ... 
Address 


City    Zone State. 

Residents    of     Utah     include     2%     sales    tax. 


SEPTEMBER  1955 


655 


DAYNES 

MUSIC  COMPANY 

HAS  MOVED] 

TO 

15  East  1st  South 


We  Invite  You  To 
Visit  the  New  DAYNES, 

Salt  Lake's  Newest,  Most  Mod- 
ern, Attractive,  and  Convenient 
Music  Store 

COME  IN  AND  SEE  THE  INTER- 
MOUNTAIN  AREAS  MOST 
COMPLETE   STOCK   OF   .   .  . 

•  PIANOS 

STEINWAY  LESTER 

•  CONN   ORGANS 

•  RECORDS 

Angel  Capital  Decca 

Victor  Coral  Mercury 

Columbia  M.G.M.  London 

RCA  Victor  Columbia 

A  Complete  Hi-Fi  Dept. 

•  MUSICAL  INSTRUMENTS 

Martin  Pedler  Holton 

Gretsch  Guitars 

•  SHEET  MUSIC  and  all 
MUSICAL  ACCESSORIES 

"We  deal  only  in  merchandise 
of  proven  quality  .  .  .  stand 
back  of  everything  we  sell  .  .  . 
strive  to   sell   at  a   fair   price." 


n 


'aunes  Music 

■in 'mPKSr 


i  5aft£akC/fy 

I45  NORTH  UNIVERSITY,  PR0VO«/'226O  WASHINGTON  BLVD..OGDEN 


FRESH  CORN  TORTILLAS 

and  a 
COMPLETE   LINE   OF 

Mexican  Foods 

Advice  and  catering  suggestions  given 

FREE  to  organizations  putting  on 

Mexican  dinners. 

For   full    information    on    prices 
Call  —  See  or  Write 

MANUEL'S  FINE  FOODS 

350  West  7th   South       Salt  Lake  City,   Utah 
Phone  3-0609 

-  WE   SHIP   ANYWHERE  - 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON 


(Continued  from  page  654) 

sufficed  to  Europeanize  a  whole  Indian  tribe. 
But  the  clear  traces  of  European  [white] 
blood  which  the  Mandan  are  said  to  have 
exhibited  in  1750  cannot  have  been  the  out- 
come of  a  relatively  fleeting  contact  with 
the  white  men;  they  must  have  sprung  from 
some  much  more  profound  intermingling. 
What  great  adventure,  what  tragedy  lies  be- 


hind this  strange  and  now  vanishing  tribe? 
We  do  not  know.38 

If  Herrmann's  conclusions  are  cor- 
rect, one  needs  to  look  elsewhere  to 
find  the  cause  of  the  white  Mandan 

{Continued  on  page  658) 

3aHerrmann,   op.   cit.,  p.   179. 


^Jkou  inauirest  what  ubert 


y? 


f 


U   L6  .  .  . 
Richard  L.  Evans 


W/E  should  like  to  begin  today  with  a  sentence  with  which 
we  could  well  conclude — a  sentence  taken  from  the 
New  Testament — "Where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is 
liberty"1 — and  then  to  add  to  it  a  question  and  an  answer 
from  Seneca:  "Thou  inquirest  what  liberty  is?  [It  is]  to  be 
a  slave  to  nothing.  .  .  ."2  There  are  many  lures  to  tempt 
men  away  from  freedom,  and  all  such  lures  are  made  to  look 
desirable.  "The  people  never  give  up  their  liberties,"  ob- 
served Edmund  Burke,  "but  under  some  delusion."3  The 
fish  is  caught  and  loses  his  freedom  and  his  life,  not  in 
pursuit  of  the  hook,  but  in  pursuit  of  something  that  cleverly 
conceals  the  hook — something  tempting  that  is  made  to  look 
good,  that  is  made  to  seem  safe.  Any  man,  or  almost  any  man, 
will  fight  against  losing  his  freedom  if  he  sees  it  being  taken 
from  him  forcibly,  but  the  greatest  threat  to  freedom  is  not 
always  the  obvious  force.  The  greatest  threats  are  often 
the  subtle  and  insidious  threats — those  which  have  the  hook 
embedded  in  the  bait.  And  in  appraising  all  the  choices  of 
life,  all  the  issues,  all  philosophies,  all  institutions,  all  men 
and  all  motives — in  judging  all  these  we  should  always  dis- 
tinguish between  these  two:  between  those  who  really  want 
men  to  have  more  freedom,  and  those  who  want  more  regi- 
mentation of  men — between  those  that  tend  toward  dominat- 
ing men  or  letting  them  live  freer  lives.  Seldom  it  seems 
does  any  man  seek  to  enslave  another  man  without  saying 
that  the  enslavement  is  somehow  for  the  benefit  and  blessing 
of  the  person  so  enslaved — without  saying  that  the  enslave- 
ment somehow  has  some  good  within  it  which  offsets  its 
evil.  But  despite  all  subtlety  and  subterfuge,  the  fact  re- 
mains that  men  were  meant  to  be  free,  that  they  cannot 
grow  to  full  stature  without  freedom,  and  that  the  Lord  God 
himself  is  committed  to  giving  his  children  their  choice,  even 
to  fail,  if  they  will.  (The  right  to  fail  is  in  fact  as  important 
as  the  right  to  succeed.)  In  closing  we  recall  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son's stirring  words  for  freedom:  "I  have  sworn  upon  the 
altar  of  God  eternal  hostility  against  every  form  of  tyranny 
over  the  mind  of  man."4  "Where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is, 
there  is  liberty."1 


'3L 


S^pohen     Word 


FROM  TEMPLE  SQUARE 

PRESENTED  OVER  KSL  AND  THE  COLUMBIA  BROADCASTING 

SYSTEM,  JULY  3,   1955 

Copyright,   1955 


1II  Corinthians  3:17. 

JSeneca:   Epistulae   Morales  and  Lucilium, 

3Edmund  Burke,  Speech  at  a  meeting  in  Buckinghamshire,   1784. 

4Thomas  Jefferson,   Letter  to  Benjamin  Rush.    1800. 


656 


THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


Li 


?? 


Our  125 
dry  holes 

last  year 

helped  keep 

you  on  wheels 


If  you're  anything  like  the  aver- 
age motorist,  you'll  need  about 
690  gallons  of  gasoline  to  take 
you  where  you  want  to  drive  this 
year.  And  that's  just  a  begin- 
ning. Keeping  you  on  wheels  and 
supplying  you  with  the  thousand 
and  one  "oil-born"  products  so 
vital  to  modern  living  requires 
2  gallons  of  petroleum  a  day  for 
every  man,  woman  and  child  in 
the  U.S.  —  an  increase  of  58% 
since  1941. 

Helping  to  keep  this  oil  flowing 
to  you  is  Standard  Oil  Company 
of  California's  biggest,  most  ex- 
pensive, least  predictable  job. 
In  fact,  we  plan  to  invest  $200 
million  during  1955  alone  in  ex- 
ploring for  new  oil  fields  and  de- 
veloping existing  ones,  to  help 
replace  the  petroleum  you'll  use. 

Some  700  times  during  the 
year,  Standard  drillers  will  start 
bits  spinning.  As  much  as  16,000 
feet  of  pipe  may  follow  the  bit 
before  oil  is  found  or  the  well  is 
abandoned.  Either  way  it's  a 
costly  hole:  drilling  an  oil  well 
may  run  anywhere  from  $125,000 
to  over  $1  million.  And  every 
one  is  a  risk — only  1  out  of  every 
9  wells  drilled  in  the  United 
States  in  a  promising  but  un- 
proven  area  ever  turns  out  to 
be  an  oil  producer. 

Yet  new  sources  of  oil  must  be 
found  to  keep  our  nation's  abun- 
dant supplies  from  dwindling. 
Risking  "dry  holes"  is  the  only 
way  to  find  them.  So  the  125 
"dry  holes"  we  drilled  last  year 
are  good  evidence  of  the  job 
Standard  does  to  help  keep  you 
on  wheels. 


STANDARD  OIL  COMPANY  OF  CALIFORNIA  plans  ahead  to  serve  you  better 

SEPTEMBER  1955  657 


ARCHAEOLOGY  AND  THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON 


(Continued  from  page  656) 
Indians.      Probably    another    quota- 
tion from  the  same  author  will  throw 
further    light    on    the    subject.      To 
quote: 

This  is  all  very  remarkable  information. 
But  on  top  of  it  comes  the  fact  that  Mandan 
mythology  explicitly  tells  that  the  first  an- 
cestor of  this  people  was  a  white  man  who, 
in  the  mists  of  antiquity,  came  to  the  coun- 
try in  a  canoe.  Long  before  the  first  mis- 
sionaries reached  the  Mandan  they  are 
alleged  to  have  known  of  a  gentle,  kindly 
god  who  was  born  of  a  virgin  and  died  a 
death  of  expiation;  they  told  of  a  miracle 
having  close  affinities  with  the  feeding  of 
the  five  thousand;  they  related  the  story  of 
the  first  mother  of  mankind  and  her  fall, 
of  the  ark  and  of  the  dove  with  a  green  twig 
in  its  beak;  they  believed  in  a  personal 
devil  who  sought  to  win  over  and  subjugate 
to  himself  the  world  of  men.  .  .  ,37 

The  writer  is  of  the  opinion  that,  in 
its  account  of  the  Nephites  who  sur- 
vived the  last  great  war  about  400 
A.D.  and  joined  with  the  Lamanites, 
the  Book  of  Mormon  gives  the  true 
answer  regarding  the  origin  of  the 
basic  strain  of  white  blood  in  the 
Mandan  Indians.  However,  the  au- 
thor concedes  that,  following  the  visit 
of  Leif  Ericson  to  Vineland  about 
1000  A.D.,  occasional  groups  from 
Europe— especially  Vikings — perhaps 
augmented  the  white  strain  thereby 
helping  to  account  for  blue-eyed 
blonds  among  the  Mandans. 

It  is  evident  that  Mandan  myth- 
ology, explained  by  Herrmann,  has 
its  basis  in  the  history  and  traditions 
of  the  Nephites,  since  these  people 
had  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
history  of  their  ancestors  and  the 
gospel  doctrines  contained  in  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments.  After  the 
close  of  the  Nephites'  records  in  421 
A.D.  and  the  apostasy  of  the  people 
from  the  true  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ, 
it  would  have  been  natural  for  many 
of  the  gospel  truths  in  an  adulterated 
form  to  be  carried  by  tradition  from 
age  to  age,  and  so  the  Mandans 
possessed  in  their  traditions  frag- 
ments of  divine  truths  when  they  first 
met  Europeans.  This  could  easily  ac- 
count for  teachings  to  be  had  among 
the  Mandans  "long  before  the  first 
missionaries  reached"  these  Indians. 

William  Bartram,  being  among  the 
earliest  of  the  whites  to  visit  the  In- 
dians of  the  southeastern  part  of  the 
United  States,  spent  considerable 
time  among  them.  In  a  book  pub- 
lished in  1791,  he  described  the  In- 


dians he  visited,  pointing  out  that  in 
general  their  hair  was  long  and  black 
and  their  complexion  ".  .  .  of  a  red- 
dish-brown or  copper  color,"  and  yet 
he  observed  some  among  them  of 
lighter  complexions.     To  quote: 

The  women  of  the  Cherokees  are  tall, 
slender,  erect  and  of  a  delicate  frame;  their 
features  formed  with  perfect  symmetry,  their 
countenance  cheerful  and  friendly,  and  they 
move  with   a   becoming  grace   and   dignity. 

The  Cherokees  are  yet  taller  and  more  ro- 
bust than  the  Muscogulges,  and  by  far  the 
largest  race  of  men  I  have  seen;  their  com- 
plexion brighter  and  somewhat  of  the  olive 
cast,  especially  the  adults  and  some  of  their 
young  women  are  nearly  as  fair  and  bloom- 
ing as  European  women.38 

In  1879  President  Wilford  Wood- 
ruff spent  several  months  among  the 
Indians  in  Arizona  and  New  Mexico. 
In  his  report  he  declared  that  some 
of"  these  Indians  were  Nephites,  or 
descendants  of  the  Nephites,  ob- 
serving that  some  of  them  were  white 
in  color.  In  speaking  of  the  Zuni 
Indians,  President  Woodruff  wrote: 

I  went  through  the  village  and,  for  the 
first  time  in  my  life,  I  had  a  view  of  the 
white  Indians.  ...  I  met  With  many  who 
had  been  baptized  and  they  were  very  glad 
to  see  me.  They  had  two  thousand  acres  of 
corn,  looking  well  without  irrigation.  On 
the  day  following,  we  visited  their  village  at 
their  farm  called  Fish  Springs.     I  was  here 

^William  Bartram,  Travels  Through  North  and 
bouth  Carolina,  Georgia,  (Philadelphia,  1791)  cited 
m  Chapman  J  Milling,  Red  Carolinians  (Kingsport, 
Tennessee,    1940),    p.    6. 


S7Ibid.,    p.    178. 

658 


OUR    GARDEN 

By  Zelda  Davis  Howard 

""Phis  is  our  garden  which  in  late  March 
-^    was  white 
With     snow.       Trees,    shrubs,     vines,     and 

flowers  were  all 
As  tightly  tucked  in  as  if  it  had  been  night 
In    deep    winter    or    the    first    cold    day    of 

fall. 
The    sunshine    and    the   clouds    played   the 

game  of  "Who 
Will   win?"  the   betting   on  blue   skies  was 

low. 
It  was  doubtful  if  roots  would  ever  come  to 
The  end  of  their  long  sleeping  and  turn  to 

grow — 
Or  so   it  seemed   to   souls  tired   of  winter. 

This  is  that  garden  we  thought  would  never 

bloom 
This  season,  but  today,  its  broad'ning  beauty 
Climbs  over  the  wall  and  will   cover  soon 
Every  mile  of  mountain,  canyon,  and  val- 
ley. 
We  thank  thee,  dear  God,  for  autumn's  be- 
stowing. 
Why  do  we  ever  doubt,  exact,  and  fear 
When  your  gifts  have  all  been  re-occurring, 
Blessings  timed  to  the  clock  of  the  day  and 
\ear? 


introduced  to  Brother  Juan  Bautista  (John 
the  Baptist),  the  first  man  baptized  in  the 
Zuni  nation  by  A.  M.  Tenney.  His  son's 
wife  was  the  most  handsome  woman  I  ever 
saw  of  the  Indian  race;  had  a  beautiful 
child,  nearly  white.30 

In  conclusion,  it  should  be  kept  in 
mind  that  the  Lord  through  his  an- 
cient prophets  promised  the  Nephites 
that  ".  .  .  thy  seed  shall  not  utterly 
be  destroyed"40  but  following  the  de- 
struction of  the  Nephite  nation,  those 
who  remained  ".  .  .  shall  be  numbered 
among  the  Lamanites."41  Obviously 
these  promises  have  been  fulfilled  in 
the  white  Indians  who  reside  among 
their  darker-skinned  brethren,  as  has 
been  pointed  out  in  this  article.  Also, 
the  Lord  promised  the  Nephites  that 
even  the  Gentiles  in  the  latter  days 
would  not  ".  .  .  destroy  the  mixture 
of  thy  seed,  which  are  among  thy 
brethren  [the  Lamanites  or  In- 
dians]."42 In  fact,  the  holy  prophets 
declared  that  the'  descendants  of  the 
Nephites  shall  be  preserved  in  the 
land  forever,  and  that  in  the  latter 
days  ".  .  .  they  shall  become  a  right- 
eous branch  unto  the  house  of 
Israel."43  This  shall  come  about  as 
a  result  of  the  Lord  having  estab- 
lished once  again  his  Church  and 
kingdom  on  the  earth,  and  eventual- 
ly— according  to  modern  revelation- — 
a  ".  .  .  knowledge  of  a  Savior  [shall 
come]  ...  to  the  Nephites,  and  the 
Jacobites,  and  the  Josephites,  and  the 
Zoramites,  [or,  as  has  been  pointed 
out — white  Indians],  through  the 
testimonies  of  their  fathers, — "  mean- 
ing the  Book  of  Mormon.44  How 
could  this  revelation  to  the  Prophet 
Joseph  Smith  be  fulfilled  if  some  of 
the  seed  of  the  Nephites  and  their 
associates  have  not  been  preserved  to 
our  day,  as  white  Indians? 

After  taking  into  consideration 
God's  promises  to  the  Nephites  of  a 
continuation  of  their  descendants  in 
America  forever,  and  after  making 
due  allowance  for  occasional  groups 
of  white  people  who  may  have  mi- 
grated to  America  after  Moroni 
closed  the  ancient  records,  the  writer 
concludes  that  certainly  the  principal 
progenitors  of  white  Indians  were  the 
Nephites  of  Book  of  Mormon  days. 

(To  be  continued) 


31)Matthias  F.  Cowley,  Wilford  Woodruff— History 
of  His  Life  and  Labors  as  Recorded  in  His  Daily 
Journals   (Salt  Lake   City,    1916),   p.   523. 

*°2    Nephi    3:3. 

«Alma  45:14. 

«1   Nephi    13:30. 

is2  Nephi   9:53. 

«/6id.,  29:12-13;  D.  &  C.   3:16-18. 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


Got  your  Peaches  ? 

Got  your  Pears? 
Get  your... 

fj,°J  sugar 


It's  the  time  for  home  canning. 
Fall  fruit  is  ready  and  in  plenti- 
ful supply.  Order  your  canning 
sugar  today.  Sugar  not  only  acts 
as  a  sweetening  agent,  but  helps 
to  preserve  the  natural  flavor, 
shape,  and  texture  of  fruit.  Make 
sure  you  buy  pure  U  and  I 
Sugar.  For  your  home  canning, 
you  can't  buy  a  finer,  purer, 
whiter  sugar  anywhere. 

Its  performance  has  been 
tested  in  tens  of  thousands  of 
homes  and  found  perfect,  for 
every  sugar  use.  When  at  your 
grocer's,  always  buy  U  and  I 
Sugar. 


/ 


r'~"~,m,r 


SUGAR 


E  gRanu 


Uted 


rmmm 


SEPTEMBER  1955 


659 


stood  the 
test  off 


FOI"  41  YEARS*  Intermountain 
families  have  enjoyed  better  water  heating 
service  because  of  Fowler!  By  leading  the 
industry  in  pioneering  important  advance- 
ments, Fowler  water  heaters  have  consist- 
ently offered  more  features,  more  value 
through  the  years. 

For  20  YEARS,  glass-lining... 
a  Fowler  first . . .  has  been  part  and  parcel  of 
every  Fowler  water  heater.  This  durable  por- 
celain bonded-to-steel  inside  the  Fowler  tank 
has  served  as  positive  protection  against  tank 
rust  and  corrosion.  Fowler  glass-lining  is 
your  assurance  of  cleaner  hot  water  and 
longer  service. 


you  can  count  on  Fowler  for 
economical,  trouble-free  operation.  Every 
Fowler  electric  water  heater  is  backed  by  the 
manufacturer's  20 -year  protected  service 
policy. 

Get  all  the  facts  about  Fowler.   See  your 
dealer  or  write  for  information. 

Distributed  by 

FLINT  DISTRIBUTING  CO. 

316  West  2nd  South  Street 
Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 


Fowler  Manufacturing  Co.  •  2545  S.E.Gladstone,  Portland  2,  Oregon 


660 


STEFFIE'S  BEAUTY  SECRET 


(Continued  from  page  633) 
Mother  said,  "That's  right,  Steffie. 

If  you  look  at  people  with  kindness 

in  your  heart,   they'll  see  beauty  in 

your  eyes." 

Steffie  beamed.     "And  if  I  smile — 

nice  and  friendly,  they'll  see  beauty 

in  my  face,  Mother?" 


"Yes,"  Mother  smiled.  "Now  you 
have  a  beauty  secret  to  keep  you 
beautiful  all  your  life." 

When  Darlene  awoke  from  her  nap, 
Mother  took  Steffie  and  her  to  the 
park.     There  were  swings  and  slides 

(Concluded  on  page  662) 


/^^>^>^3v>^ix>^xrv>^xD^35sS;S^3SiS;S^^^ 


Wk 


en  are  we  aom 


to  aet  there: 


->■} 


aotvia  to  ael  mere'. 

Richard  L.  Evans 

A  frequent  question  from  those  who  are  going  somewhere 
is  this:  "When  are  we  going  to  get  there?"  It  is  a  ques- 
tion typical  of  children  headed  for  picnic  places.  It  is  a 
question  typical  of  adults  moving  through  the  years  of  life. 
"When  are  we  going  to  get  there?"  As  we  have  observed 
repeatedly  in  the  past,  "Life  is  a  journey  and  not  a  destina- 
tion."1 But  it  is  a  journey  that  we  should  enjoy,  and  not 
live  always  as  if  happiness  were  always  ahead — and  not  now. 
Searching  is  inevitable.  Reaching  and  wanting  and  waiting 
are  also  inevitable.  But  we  should  enjoy  the  journey,  and 
not  always  wonder  when  we  are  going  to  "get  there."  Young 
people — and  older  ones  also — work  long  years  to  prepare 
themselves — for  professions  or  other  occupations,  or  to  pay 
off  the  mortgage,  to  educate  children,  to  pay  bills,  or  to 
acquire  things  wanted,  and  wonder  when  they  are  going  to 
"get  there."  And  then  suddenly,  sometimes,  there  comes 
a  sense  that  they  have  "been  there"  all  along — and  that 
they  should  have  enjoyed  the  journey  much  more.  Some- 
times men  work  long  years  looking  toward  retirement,  toward 
what  they  will  do  someday.  And  then  suddenly  there  comes 
an  awareness  that  life  has  been  going  on  all  the  time,  and 
that  in  looking  too  intently  ahead  they  have  failed  somewhat 
to  enjoy  some  of  the  lovely  passing  scenes.  The  visits  with 
loved  ones,  the  quiet  evening  hours,  the  holiday,  the  picnic 
with  all  its  wonderful  inconveniences,  the  talk  across  the 
table,  the  give-and-take  with  one  another,  the  going  and 
the  coming,  the  problems,  the  complexity  of  interests  and 
activities — these  are  all  part  of  "being  there,"  and  should 
not  be  bypassed  in  the  process  of  "getting  there."  We  never 
seem  quite  to  arrive  at  a  point  of  completeness,  but  when  we 
look  back  we  often  find  that  we  didn't  quite  recognize  some 
things  for  what  they  were.  The  things  we  hope  to  get,  the 
things  we  are  going  to  get,  shouldn't  rob  us,  so  far  as  this 
day  is  concerned,  of  the  happiness  we  have  here.  It  isn't 
likely  that  we  shall  find  anything  essentially  sweeter  than  the 
love  of  loved  ones,  or  the  sense  of  accomplishment,  or  the 
wonderful  feeling  of  being  alive  and  on  our  way.  It  is  true 
that  there  is  much  that  needs  to  be  improved — and  that 
heaven  is  ahead.  But  the  journey  of  life  is  everlasting.  It 
is  going  on  all  the  time,  and  living  happily  and  usefully 
now  is  a  very  important  part  of  the  process  of  "getting  there." 


'5L 


Spoken     Word  FROM  temple  square 

PRESENTED  OVER  KSL  AND  THE  COLUMBIA  BROADCASTING 


SYSTEM,  JULY    10,    1955 


Copyright,    1955 


'From   dedicatory   page   of   the   book   This  Day — and  Always   by   Richard   L.    Evans. 

THE  IMPROVHVlEl^ERA 


THE  EGYPTIANS  KNEW  THE  ART  Of  PRESERVATION  •  BUT  YOU  DO  IT  FAR  BETTER  WITH  LOCKERAP 


Wrap  meat  to  bee 
a  long  time 


You  can  put  your  complete  confidence  in  Lockerap. 
It  is  tough  —  resists  **poke  through."  It  is  pliable  — 
easy  to  work  with.  And  to  reduce  moisture  vapor 
transfer  —  it  is  specially  coated  with  amorphous 
waxes  with  polyethylene  added-  Try  It  — 
for  premium  protection  at  low  cost. 


LOCKERAP,  A  TRADE  NAfAi 


This  bead  of  an  Egyptian  princess  was  earned 

from  sandstone  in  1400-1300  B.C.  It  is  in 

excellent  condition  today. 


Wamd  @$e%&  mMS  m  $$€4,  e&etntm  and  tan&um&t  nat£& 

IZr%     LOCKERFOIL-  '^ 

■-——*      3-ply  protection :  aluminum  +  paper  +  plastic  wax 


LOCZIN- 

the  new  polyethylene  wrap  with  crack-proof  film 

LOCKERAP - 

huff  or  white,  for  premium  protection  at  low  cost 


WESTERN  WAXED  PAPER  DIVISION 
CROWN  ZEUER8ACH  CORPORATION 

North  Portland,  Oregon,  P,  O.  Sox  51 S 
San  leandro,  California,  2101  William  St. 
Los  Angeles,  California,  5900  Sheila  St, 


Do  It  Yourself.. .The  Easy  Way 


Steel  power  tools  have  made  it  possible  for  the 
amateur  to  make  high-quality  furniture.  With  a 
true-running  saw,  for  example,  you  can  be  sure  of 
precise  cuts  and  tight  joints.  Multi-purpose  steel 
power  tools  furnish  the  accuracy  and  remove  the 
drudgery  from  workshop  projects. 


© 


UNITED  STATES  STEEL 


*  Commercial  Dept.  *  Savings  Dept. 

*  Checking  Accounts  *  Trust  Dept. 

*  Special  Checking  *  Bank  By  Mail 

*  Call-in  Dept.  *  Safe  Deposit  Boxes 

*  Abstracts  and  Title  Insurance 


235  SOUTH  MAIN     •     SALT  LAKE  CITY,  UTAH 


Member  Federal  Reserve  Systerr 


Steffie's  Beauty  Secret 

(Concluded  from  page  660) 
and  a  merry-go-round  and  a  Ferris 
wheel. 

"May  I  go  on  the  merry-go-round 
again,  Mother?"  Darlene  begged. 

"No,  dear,"  Mother  said.  "No 
more  today." 

Darlene  sat  down  on  the  grass  and 
began  to  cry. 

A  woman  stopped  to  talk  to  Mother. 
"Hello,"  she  said.  She  looked  down 
at  Darlene  crying,  and  she  didn't  stare 
at  her  at  all.  She  turned  and  stared 
at  Steffie  instead.  "Is  this  your  lovely 
older  daughter?"  she  asked. 

"Yes,"  Mother  said.  "This  is  our 
Steffie.  .  .  .  Steffie  this  is  Mrs.  Brooks." 

Steffie  smiled  her  new  kind  of 
magic  smile.  "How  do  you  do,  Mrs. 
Brooks,"  she  said,  shaking  hands. 

Mrs.  Brooks  said,  "What  a  beauti- 
ful, smiling  face  she  has!" 

Steffie  felt,  oh,  so  glad — all  over. 
She  squeezed  Mother's  hand  thank- 
fully. She  knew  now  that  she  had 
a  magic  beauty  secret  that  really 
worked. 


662 


Sorry  -  -  No  Letter  Today 

(Continued  from  page  649) 
benefactor   proved   to   be   Frank   W. 
Otterstrom  of  Los  Angeles,  California. 

What  a  thrill  and  testimony  we  re- 
ceived from  this  brother's  letter,  ex- 
plaining that  in  his  seventy-fifth  year 
he  is  still  active  and  working  for  a 
living.  He  explained,  "I  always  have 
my  eyes  and  ears  open  to  detect  cases 
where  a  book  might  do  some  good." 
His  books  have  created  the  position 
of  librarian  in  our  group.  It  is  oc- 
cupied by  a  young  LDS  man  recently 
reconverted  to  the  faith. 

What  a  joy  and  testimony  this 
young  man  has  received  from  his  new 
position  in  the  Church,  and  believe 
me  we  have  a  fast-circulating  library. 
What  a  blessing  similar  acts  such  as 
this  could  be  to  both  sender  and  re- 
ceiver. 

A  package  from  a  loving  wife  at 
**<  home  to  a  member  of  our  group 
brought  us  songbooks  for  our  meet- 
ings. There  were  enough  for  every- 
one. The  books  were  those  discarded 
from  active  use  in  the  wards  at  home, 
but  they  are  excellent  for  use  in  our 
servicemen's  meetings.  We  meet 
often,  and  we  were  tired  of  singing 
the  limited  songs  in  the  little  hymn 
booklets  provided  for  the  servicemen. 
THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


The  package  arrived  just  in  time 
for  testimony  meeting,  and  testi- 
monies of  gratitude  were  expressed 
for  the  gift  and  the  giver.  We  know, 
as  the  scriptures  tell  us,  that  these 
testimonies  are  recorded  in  heaven. 

rpHE  only  time  I  have  ever  seen  a 
-*•  GI  late  for  chow  was  during  mail 
call.  Now  I  can  understand  why  mail 
to  men  fighting  on  the  front  line  in 
battle  has  A-I  priority. 

Is  a  letter  from  home  important? 
We  servicemen  surely  think  so! 


Solomon  Mack  and  his  Family 

(Continued  from  page  632) 
Ham  Henry,  were  now  assembled  more  than 
fifteen  thousand  men;  and  the  shores,  the 
foot  of  the  mountains,  and  the  broken  plains 
between  them  were  studded  thick  with 
tents.  .  .  .  Abercrombie  raised  to  his  place 
by  political  influence,  was  little  but  the 
nominal  commander.  .  .  . 

Pitt  meant  that  the  actual  command  of 
the  army  should  be  in  the  hands  of  Brigadier 
Lord  Howe,  and  he  was  in  fact  its  real 
chief;  "the  noblest  Englishman  that  has  ap- 
peared in  my  time,  and  the  best  soldier  in 
the  British  army,"  says  Wolfe.  And  he 
elsewhere  speaks  of  him  as  "that  great  man." 
Abercrombie  testifies  to  the  universal  respect 
and  love  with  which  officers  and  men  re- 
garded him,  and  Pitt  calls  him  "a  char- 
acter of  ancient  times;  a  complete  model  of 
military  virtue."  High  as  this  praise  is,  it 
seems  to  have  been  deserved.  The  young 
nobleman,  who  was  then  in  his  thirty- 
fourth  year,  had  the  qualities  of  a  leader 
of  men.  The  army  felt  him,  from  general 
to  drummer-boy.  He  was  its  soul.  .  .  . 
During  the  past  year  he  had  studied  the 
art  of  forest  warfare,  and  joined  Rogers  and 
his  rangers  in  their  scouting-parties,  sharing 
all  their  hardships  and  making  himself  one 
of  them.  .  ,  . 

On  the  evening  of  the  fourth  of  July, 
baggage,  stores,  and  ammunition  were  all 
on  board  the  boats,  and  the  whole  army 
embarked  on  the  morning  of  the  fifth. 
The  arrangements  were  perfect.  Each  corps 
marched  without  confusion  to  its  appointed 
station  on  the  beach,  and  the  sun  was 
scarcely  above  the  ridge  of  French  Mountain 
when  all  were  afloat.  A  spectator  watching 
them  from  the  shore  says  that  when  the 
fleet  was  three  miles  on  its  way,  the  sur- 
face of  the  lake  at  that  distance  was  com- 
pletely hidden  from  sight.  There  were  nine 
hundred  bateaux,  a  hundred  and  thirty-five 
whaleboats,  and  a  large  number  of  heavy 
flatboats  carrying  the  artillery.  The  whole 
advanced  in  three  divisions,  the  regulars 
in  the  centre,  and  the  provincials  on  the 
flanks.  Each  corps  had  its  flags  and  its 
music.  The  day  was  fair  and  the  men  and 
officers  were  in  the  highest  spirits.17 

By  noon  the  next  day  the  whole 
army  was  on  shore  at  the  northern 

(Continued  on  following  page) 
"Parkman,    op.   cit.,  Vol.   II,   pp.   292,   294-296,   298. 

SEPTEMBER  1955 


The  satisfying 

all-family  drink 


f*os?tif*« 


$HS&4& 


This  large  8-ounce  jar  of  Instant  Postum  makes  up  to  100  cups! 

Instant  Postum  contains 
no  caffein  or  other  drug ! 

Everyone  from  Granddad  to  your  youngest  toddler  can  enjoy 
Instant  Postum.  It's  harmless  because  it's  caffein-free — with  no 
drugs  or  stimulants  of  any  kind ! 

Postum  has  plenty  of  flavor  though — a  hearty  goodness  that's 
wonderfully  warm  and  satisfying. 

It's  ready  to  drink  in  an  instant,  too,  made  right  in  the  cup  by 
adding  hot  water  or — for  growing  youngsters — hot  milk. 

Why  not  serve  Instant  Postum  to  your  family  at  mealtimes? 
It's  family-priced — less  than  a  penny  a  cup!  Another  wonderful 
product  of  General  Foods. 


Instant  Postum 


No  caffein 


J  9ru&t(C 


663 


LEARNING 

...BY 

MAGIC  ! 


Long  before  children  know  the 
meaning  of  words,  eager  young 
ears  and  minds  respond  to  the  magic 
of  their  rhythm.  Bright,  beautiful 
colors,  too,  have  a  magic  all  their 
own. 

Childcraft  makes  the  most  of  the 
"magic"  in  helping  your  child 
learn  by  looking  and  listening. 
You'll  find  enchanting  stories  and 
poems  selected  to  suit  his  years, 
vividly  illustrated  in  full  color. 
There  are  songs,  games,  riddles,  and 
other  creative  activities  to  suit  his 
growing  interests.  And  the  sections 
on  Art,  Science,  Music,  Literature, 
and  History,  help  you  build  a  well- 
rounded,   cultured  personality. 

Magic  is  fun!  And  Childcraft  has 
proved  to  be  the  almost  magic 
way  of  learning,  starting  from  in- 
fancy, with  a  profound  effect  on  a 
child's  future.  For  all  this,  all  15 
wonderful  volumes  of  Childcraft 
cost  less  than  you  think.  For  full 
information,  write  Mr.  William  F. 
Hayes,  Dept.  3249,  Box  3565, 
Chicago  54,  Illinois. 

CHILDCRAFT 

America's  famous  child 
development  plan 

FIELD  ENTERPRISES,  INC. 
Educational  Division 
Merchandise  Mart  Plaza, 
Chicago  54,  Illinois. 


"Where  Courtesy  is  a  Custom 
and  Service  is  Dependable" 

|BUY  YOUR  NEXT  CAR  FROM 

Courtc 

DODGE  •  PLYMOUTH 

1000  So.  Main,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 
"Utah's  Largest  Dodge-Plymouth  Dealer" 


SOLOMON  MACK  AND  HIS  FAMILY 


(Continued  from  preceding  page) 
end  of  Lake  George.  The  army  in 
four  columns  began  its  march  in  the 
direction  of  Trout  Brook,  through  a 
dense  and  heavy  forest,  obstructed 
with  undergrowth  and  encumbered 
with  fallen  trees.  A  small  French 
scouting  party  under  Langy  were  en- 
countered near  the  function  of  Trout 
Brook  with  the  river  of  the  outlet. 


Lord  Howe,  with  Major  Israel  Putnam  and 
two  hundred  rangers,  was  the  head  of  the 
principal  column,  which  was  a  little  in  ad- 
vance of  the  three  others.  Suddenly  the 
challenge,  Qui  vivel  rang  sharply  from  the 
thickets  in  front.  Francais!  was  the  reply. 
Langy's  men  were  not  deceived:  they  fired 
out  of  the  bushes.  The  shots  were  returned; 
a  hot  skirmish  followed;  and  Lord  Howe 
dropped  dead,  shot  through  the  breast.  All 
was  confusion.    The  dull,  vicious  reports  of 


1 


I 
I 

14 

1 

1 


Richard  L.  Evans 


On  this  question  again  of  wondering  when  we  are  going 
to  "get  there":  When  our  children  are  young  and  very 
dependent  upon  us,  sometimes  perhaps  we  think  what  we 
would  do  if  we  were  more  free  from  responsibility.  And 
then  the  time  comes  when  we  are  more  free  from  that  kind 
of  responsibility,  and  in  looking  back  we  find  that  it  was 
one  of  the  sweetest,  most  enjoyable  parts  of  life.  We  should 
enjoy  our  children  when  we  have  them  around  us.  They 
won't  always  be  with  us.  It  is  wonderful  to  be  part  of 
things,  to  be  needed,  to  be  wanted — and  to  enjoy  the  journey. 
Not  any  of  us  can  plan  fully  for  the  future,  because  the  un- 
expected always  enters  in.  There  are  almost  always  obli- 
gations and  worries — there  are  accidents  and  illnesses — the 
unexpected  bills — the  budget  that  has  a  way  of  exceeding 
itself — the  things  that  cost  more  than  we  counted  on — the 
unfinished  things  that  are  always  there  to  be  done.  And 
then  add  to  all  this,  all  the  other  problems  and  perplexities 
of  young  parents — problems  of  employment,  problems  of 
providing,  problems  of  preparing  and  building  solidly  for 
the  future.  But  every  time  of  life  has  its  problems,  and  its 
compensations.  Youth  has  its  problems,  too — and  so  does 
age.  But  we  live  through  each  part  of  life  only  once.  We 
don't  go  back.  And  instead  of  wishing  that  any  part  of  it 
were  over,  instead  of  living  always  for  something  that  is 
never  now,  we  should  find  some  sweetness  and  accomplish- 
ment and  compensation  in  every  hour.  And  to  you  in  your 
younger  married  years,  with  all  the  problems  of  young  par- 
ents upon  you:  It  is  probable  that  as  you  live  out  all  the 
long  years  of  life  you  will  never  find  anything  essentially 
sweeter  than  the  tight  circling  of  a  baby's  arms  around  your 
neck;  or  a  child,  his  hand  in  yours,  walking  with  you;  or  a 
boy's  arm  around  your  shoulders  in  the  quiet  confidence  of 
an  evening  hour.  Don't  wish  for  each  part  of  life  to  be 
past.  Despite  all  the  problems  and  the  pressures,  enjoy  the 
journey.  It's  a  good  world  and  a  good  life — God  made  it 
so,  and  it  is  up  to  us  to  find  the  sweetness  in  it,  to  find  what 
we  can  of  heaven  here,  until  we  arrive,  with  our  loved  ones, 
at  that  heaven  which  is  everlastingly  hereafter. 


FROM   TEMPLE  SQUARE 


PRESENTED  OVER  KSL  AND  THE  COLUMBIA  BROADCASTING 
SYSTEM,  ]ULY  17,   1955 

Copyright,    1955 


^y^c 


I 

k 

? 

i 

i 


664 


THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


musketry  in  thick  woods,  at  first  few  and 
scattering,  then  in  fierce  and  rapid  volleys, 
reached  the  troops  behind.  They  could 
hear,  but  see  nothing.  Already  harassed 
and  perplexed,  they  became  perturbed.  For 
all  they  knew,  Montcalm's  whole  army  was 
upon  them.  Nothing  prevented  a  panic 
but  the  steadiness  of  the  rangers,  who  main- 
tained the  fight  alone  till  the  rest  came  back 
to  their  senses.  Rogers,  with  his  recon- 
noitering  party,  and  the  regiments  of  Fitch 
and  Lyman,  were  at  no  great  distance  in 
front.  They  all  turned  on  hearing  the 
musketry,  and  thus  the  French  were  caught 
between  two  fires.  They  fought  with 
desperation.  About  fifty  of  them  at  length 
escaped;  a  hundred  and  forty-eight  were 
captured,  and  the  rest  killed  or  drowned  in 
trying  to  cross  the  rapids.  The  loss  of  the 
English  was  small  in  numbers,  but  im- 
measurable in  the  death  of  Howe.  "The 
fall  of  this  noble  and  brave  officer,"  says 
Rogers,  "seemed  to  produce  an  almost  gen- 
eral languor  and  consternation  'through  the 
whole  army."  "In  Lord  Howe,"  writes  an- 
other contemporary,  Major  Thomas  Mante, 
"the  soul  of  General  Abercrombie's  army 
seemed  to  expire.  From  the  unhappy  mo- 
ment the  General  was  deprived  of  his  ad- 
vice, neither  order  nor  discipline  was  ob- 
served, and  a  strange  kind  of  infatuation 
usurped  the  place  of  resolution."  The  death 
of  one  man  was  the  ruin  of  fifteen  thou- 
sand.18 

It  is  probable  that  Solomon  Mack 
was  serving  with  the  rangers  under 
Israel  Putnam.  Yet  his  account  is 
modest  in  its  brevity: 

There  was  a  severe  battle  fought,  Lord 
Howe  was  killed,  .  .  .  his  body  was  em- 
balmed and  carried  to  England. 

The  next  day  we  marched  to  the  breast- 
works and  were  obliged  to  retreat  with  the 
loss  of  five  hundred  killed  and  as  many 
more  wounded;  but  I  escaped  very  narrowly 
by  a  musket  ball  passing  under  my  chin, 
perhaps  within  half  an  inch  of  my  neck. 
In  this  rencontre  [sic]  I  had  no  reflection 
only  that  I  thought  I  had  by  my  good  luck 
escaped  a  narrow  shot.19 

Montcalm  sought  to  defend  Ticon- 
deroga  by  hewing  down  thousands  of 
trees  and  piling  the  trunks  one  upon 
another  to  form  a  massive  breastwork 
on  the  top  of  a  ridge,  between  eight 
and  nine  feet  high.  The  space  in 
front  was  cleared  by  cutting  down 
the  trees  and  letting  them  lie  where 
they  fell  among  the  stumps.  Right  in 
front  of  the  breastworks  the  ground 
was  covered  with  heavy  boughs, 
"overlapping  and  interlaced,  with 
sharpened  points  bristling  into  the 
face  of  the  assailants  like  the  quills 
of  a  porcupine."18  Without  stopping 
to  batter  this  barricade  with  heavy 
cannon,  Abercrombie  hastily  ordered 
a  frontal  attack.  "Leadership  per- 
ished with  Lord  Howe,  and  nothing 
was  left  but  blind,  headlong  valor."18 

(To  be  continued) 

^Ibid.,   pp.  303-304,   307,  309. 

laA  Narrative  of  Solomon  Mack,   p.  7. 

SEPTEMBER  1955 


Distinctive...  different...  and 
so  practical!  Here  is  dining 
furniture  that  glamourizes 
your  entire  living-dining 
area,  yet  stays  lovely  and 
new  looking. 

BLACK  METAL  DINING   FURNITURE 

Available  at  better  furniture  and 
department  stores  throughout 
the  country. 


Charcoal, 

Blond  or 

Mink  Walnut 

Melamine 

plastic 

laminated 

tops. 


Send  1CV  for  informative  booklet — ■ 
"Things  to  Know  About  Contemporary 
Furniture."  Address    Dept  I. 

VIRTUE  BROS.  MFG.  CO.  Los  Angeles  45,  California 
"ETERNAL  VIGILANCE  IS  THE  PRICE  OF  LIBERTY" . . .  DEFEND  THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES! 

Setting  -there  is  half  the  -fliit  / 

A  familiar  sight  along 
the  Irish  Coast,  the 
27,000-ton  Britannic 
maintains  a  highly 
popular  transatlantic 
service  between 
New  York,  Cobh  and 
Liverpool.  Luxurious  in 
accommodations  and 
appointments,  the 
Britannic  possesses  at  the 
same  time  a  sunny, 
friendly  atmosphere 
preferred  by  many 
travelers  who  seek  an 
ocean  voyage  just  long 
enough  to  fully  savor 
the  perfection  of  Cunard 
food  and  service  .  . . 
to  enjoy  a  really 
satisfying  measure  of 
festive  shipboard  life. 
The  Britannic  also 
offers  a  leisurely  cruise 
to  the  Mediterranean 
each  winter. 


See  your  Cunard-authorized 

Travel  Agent  and.. 


QQ  CUNARD 


QUEEN  ELIZABETH    •   QUEEN  MARY   •    MAURETANIA    •    CARONIA  •    BRITANNIC    •    MEDIA    •    PARTHIA 

FRANCONIA    •  SCYTHIA    •    SAMARIA    •    ASCANIA    •    SAXON1A    •    IVERNIA 

665 


Elders  Quorums 


Quorums  of  Elders 

First — Elders  Quorums 

Elders  quorums  are  organized  on  a 
stake  basis.  They  are  operated  di- 
rectly by  the  stake  president,  chair- 
man of  the  stake  Melchizedek  Priest- 
hood committee,  assisted  by  his  two 
counselors  and  the  high  council  mem- 
bers whom  the  stake  president  ap- 
points to  work  under  his  direction 
with  the  elders.  Elders  quorums  in 
the  mission  field  operate  under  the 
direction  of  the   mission  presidency. 

Elders  quorums  in  the  stakes  of 
Zion  are  composed  of  all  the  elders 
living  in  one  or  more  wards  of  the 
stake  in  accordance  with  the  number 
of  elders  available.  In  each  stake  the 
quorums  are  numbered  consecutively, 
beginning  with  number  one. 

Second — Size  of  Elders  Quorums 

According  to  a  revelation  on  priest- 
hood and  church  government,  an 
elders  quorum  is  to  consist  of  ninety- 
six  members,1  and  a  quorum  should 
not  be  organized  with  fewer  mem- 
bers than  forty-nine,  which  number 
constitutes  a  quorum  majority.  If 
there  are  cases  where  elders  quorums 
contain  fewer  than  an  operating  ma- 
jority, stake  presidencies  are  advised 
to  unite  those  quorums  with  others; 
and  then  they  could  be  operated  as 
elders  groups  until  they  become 
numerically  strong  enough  rightfully 
to  become  quorums. 

Third — Purposes  of  Elders  Quorums 

Elders  quorums  are  organized  for 
the  specific  purpose  of  helping  every 
elder  to  attain  a  condition  of  well- 
being  in  body,  mind,  and  spirit — 
which  includes  the  economic,  spir- 
itual, and  moral  welfare  of  each  elder 
and  his  family.  The  same  holds  true 
with  other  Melchizedek  Priesthood 
quorums. 

The  principal  purposes  of  elders 
quorums — as  well  as  the  other  Mel- 
chizedek Priesthood  quorums — are  to 
help  the  Church  accomplish  its  di- 
vine mission  of  perfecting  the  Saints, 

1D.  &  C.   107:89. 

666 


of  providing  salvation  for  the  dead, 
and  of  preaching  the  gospel  to  every 
nation,  kindred,  tongue,  and  people 
throughout  the  entire  world. 

Responsibilities  of  Stake 

Presidencies  Toward  Elders 

Quorums 

First — Responsibilities  of  Stake  Presi- 
dencies 

Stake  presidencies  are  responsible 
for  the  effective  operation  of  the 
priesthood  program  throughout  their 
individual  stakes,  and  thereby  they 
are  directly  responsible  for  the  elders 
quorum  presidencies  and  the  work 
done  by  them  and  by  the  quorum 
members.  Stake  presidencies  have  a 
definite  responsibility  toward  every 
Melchizedek  Priesthood  quorum  with- 
in their  stake  bounds  and  thereby 
a  responsibility  toward  every  priest- 
hood holder.  We  read  in  the.MeZ- 
chizedek  Priesthood  Handbook,  p.  10: 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  stake  presidency  to 
supervise  Melchizedek  Priesthood  quorums. 
No  stake  president  should  permit. a  quorum 
to  mark  time  month  after  month  without 
giving  serious  thought  and  attention  to  the 
duties  required  of  quorums.  If  officers  will 
not  serve  conscientiously,  then  others  should 
be  selected  who  have  the  ability  and  in- 
clination. Stake  presidencies,  with  the  help 
of  the  high  councilors,  are  charged  with  the 
responsibility  of  following  up  this  labor  to 
see  that  every  man  who  is  given  proper 
authority  performs  his  duty. 

All  stake  presidencies  throughout 
the  Church  are  urged  to  see  that  the 
quorum  presidents  under  their  juris- 
diction hold  weekly  meetings  of  the 
presidencies,  weekly  group  or  quorum 
meetings,  monthly  quorum  business 
meetings,  and  that  they  magnify 
their  callings  in  all  respects. 

Since  the  stake  president  is  the 
chairman  of  the  stake  Melchizedek 
Priesthood  committee,  the  work  of 
directing  the  elders  in  his  stake  is 
his.  This  he  does  through  the  quo- 
rum presidencies;  and  so  it  is  sug- 
gested that  the  stake  president  work 
with  the  elders  quorum  presidencies 
to  the  end  that  each  member  of  those 
presidencies  becomes  a  full  tithepayer 


and  conforms  his  living  to  God's  other 
commandments. 

Second — Stake     Melchizedek    Priest- 
hood Committee 

In  order  to  help  carry  forward  the 
supervising  and  directing  of  the  Mel- 
chizedek Priesthood  work  in  the 
stake,  especially  that  of  the  elders 
quorums,  the  stake  presidency  is  pro- 
vided with  a  stake  Melchizedek 
Priesthood  committee  which  is  com- 
posed of  the  stake  president,  as 
chairman,  "and  as  many  members 
of  the  high  council  as  are  necessary, 
but  in  no  case  fewer  than  three."2 
No  stake  presidency  should  attempt 
to  operate  a  stake  and  direct  the 
priesthood  activities  therein  unless  he 
organizes  a  stake  Melchizedek  com- 
mittee and  makes  full  use  of  it. 
Regarding  this  committee,  the  follow- 
ing appears  in  the  Melchizedek 
Priesthood  Handbook,  p.  1 1 : 

The  stake  Melchizedek  Priesthood  com- 
mittee represents  the  stake  presidency  in 
the  direction  and  supervision  of  all  quorums 
of  the  Melchizedek  Priesthood  within  the 
stake.  This  committee  is  appointed  to  be 
an  aid  to  the  stake  presidency.  The  stake 
Melchizedek  Priesthood  committee  does  not 
preside,  but  supervises  under  the  direction  of 
the  stake  presidency. 

Third — Opportunities  to  Assist  Elders 
Quorums 

It  is  in  their  directing  of  the  elders 
quorums  that  the  stake  presidency 
and  the  Melchizedek  Priesthood  com- 
mittee can  do  some  of  their  most 
vital  work.  The  following  sugges- 
tions were  printed  on  the  "Melchize- 
dek Priesthood  Page"  of  The  Im- 
provement Era,  February,  1954: 

Of  all  assignments  connected  with  Mel- 
chizedek Priesthood  work,  high  councilors 
could  probably  do  the  most  needed  and 
effective  work  with  the  elders  quorums. 
Their  efforts  will  result  in  an  untold  amount 
of  good  in  helping  further  the  work  of  the 
Lord  in  diligently  and  intelligently  working 
with  various  elders  quorums  of  their  stake. 
The  men  holding  the  office  of  elder  in  the 
Church  constitute  the  majority  of  the  adult 
male  membersihp,  thereby  furnishing  a 
marvelous  opportunity  to  the  high  councilors 
assigned  to  work  with  that  group.  Their 
efforts  should  be  directed  toward  helping 
to  increase  the  activities  in  the  various 
elders  quorums,  resulting  in  an  increase  in 

'Melchizedek  Priesthood  Handbook   (Salt   Lake  Citv. 
1948),    p.    11. 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


Priesthood 


the  righteousness  of  the  members  in  general 
and  of  their  families. 

Stake  presidencies  and  high  councilors 
should  keep  in  mind  the  fact  that  there 
are  no  other  assignments  in  the  stakes 
which  need  the  work  of  high  councilors 
more  than  does  the  elders'  program,  and 
probably  nowhere  else  could  high  councilors 
do  more  effective  and  beneficial  work  than 
in  helping  to  improve  the  work  of  these 
men,  bringing  the  less  active  ones  into 
activity.  The  General  Authorities  of  the 
Church  encourage  high  councilors  to  en- 
gage in  this  work  wholeheartedly. 


Elders  Quorum  Presidencies 

First — Choosing  and  Setting  Apart  of 
Presidencies 

Elders  presidents  are  chosen  by  the 
stake  presidency,  approved  by  the 
high  council,  sustained  by  the  quo- 
rum members,  and  set  apart  by  the 
stake  presidency  or  their  high  coun- 
cil representative.  Presidents,  with 
the  approval  of  the  stake  presidency, 
choose  their  counselors. 

Second — Keys  Held  by  Presidencies 

The  keys  of  directing  the  various 
assignments  given  to  elders  in  their 
quorums  are  held  by  the  presidencies 
of  such  quorums.  It  is  through  those 
keys  that  the  presidencies  carry  for- 
ward the  priesthood  work  of  their 
respective  quorums  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  stake  presidency — who 
hold  the  keys  of  the  priesthood  over 
the  entire  stake  under  the  direction 
of  the  First  Presidency.  These  keys 
of  the  priesthood  are  held  by  elders 
quorum  presidencies  until  they  are 
released  from  their  positions  and 
others  appointed  in  their  stead. 

Third — General     Responsibilities     of 

Elders  Presidencies 

The  Lord  revealed  the  following 
in  regards  to  the  responsibilities  of 
elders  presidencies: 

Again,  the  duty  of  the  president  over  the 
office  of  elders  is  to  preside  over  ninety-six 
elders,  and  to  sit  in  council  with  them,  and 
to  teach  them  according  to  the  covenants.3 

Since  each  elders  quorum  presi- 
dency is  called  by  the  Lord  and  set 
apart  through  his  divinely  appointed 

*D.  &  C.  107:89. 
SEPTEMBER  1955 


power  to  direct  all  the  activities  of 
the  quorum,  each  quorum  member 
becomes  the  concern  of  the  presi- 
dency. Thus,  the  presidency  has  the 
responsibility  of  working  with  each 
quorum  member  and  his  family  until 
they  conform  their  living  to  all  the 
standards  of  the  restored  gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ.  This  is  a  gigantic  as- 
signment which  carries  tremendous 
responsibility  and  should  so  be  con- 
sidered by  every  young  man  who  re- 
ceives an  appointment  in  a  presi- 
dency of  an  elders  quorum. 

Specific  Responsibilities  of  Elders 
Quorum  Presidencies 

First — Presidencies  to  Become  Ac- 
quainted with  Every  Quorum 
Member 

It  is  the  specific  duty  of  all  presi- 
dencies of  elders'  quorums  throughout 
the  entire  Church  to  become  per- 
sonally acquainted  with  all  their 
quorum  members.  They  should  be- 
come acquainted  with  the  economic 
status,  the  occupation,  the  abilities 
and  attitudes,  the  personal  habits,  and 
the  quality  of  spirituality  of  each 
quorum  member  as  far  as  is  humanly 
possible.  This  in  itself  is  a  big  as- 
signment since  it  takes  nearly  one 
hundred  men  to  contitute  one  quo- 
rum, and  there  are  only  three  mem- 
bers in  the  presidency.  It  is  obvious 
that  as  many  assignments  as  possible 
should  be  given  to  quorum  members. 

Second — Presidencies  to  Visit  Elders 
Quorum  Members 

a.  Presidencies  Annual  Visits  to  All 
Quorum  Members 

Elders  quorum  presidencies  are 
asked  by  the  General  Authorities  of 
the  Church  to  make  an  annual  visit 
to  every  quorum  member.  These 
annual  visits  supply  excellent  oppor- 
tunities for  quorum  presidencies  to 
become  personally  acquainted  with 
each  of  the  quorum  members.  Also, 
as  a  result  of  these  visits,  the  quorum 
presidencies  are  able  to  make  proper 
reports  upon  their  quorum  members. 
It  is  apparent  that  it  is  quite  neces- 
sary for  elders  quorum  presidencies 
to  begin  their  annual  visits  early  in 


the  year  in  order  to  have  that  as- 
signment thoroughly  and  completely 
done  before  the  year  closes. 

b.  Presidencies'  Visits  at  Time  of 
Sickness  and  Death 

It  is  apparent  that  at  the  time  of 
sickness  or  death  in  the  families  of 
members  of  elders  quorums,  the  quo- 
rum presidencies  find  their  most  op- 
portune time  to  accomplish  a  great 
amount  of  good  by  visiting  the  fam- 
ilies and  offering  to  them  all  the  com- 
fort and  aid  possible.  Certainly  when 
elders  are  hospitalized,  the  quorum 
presidencies  should  visit  the  hospital, 
probably  take  them  flowers,  and  cer- 
tainly encourage  them  in  behalf  of 
the  quorum. 

c.  Presidencies  Visits  to  Reactivate 
Quorum  Members 

One  of  the  principal  duties  of  the 
presidencies  of  elders  quorums  is  to 
reactivate  quorum  members.  Since 
many  of  the  young  men  who  receive 
the  office  of  an  elder  in  the  Melchize- 
dek  Priesthood  are  young  and  of 
meager  experience,  they  at  times  are 
less  active  in  the  Church  than  are 
many  of  the  members  of  the  seventies 
and  high  priests  quorums.  This  fact 
within  itself  places  a  major  responsi- 
bility upon  the  presidencies  of  elders 
quorums,  to  visit  the  homes  of  the  less 
active  quorum  members  and  activate 
them  in  the  priesthood  program  and 
the  program  of  the  Church  in  gen- 
eral. Quorum  presidencies  should 
take  advantage  of  every  opportunity 
in  their  efforts  to  induce  less  active 
quorum  members  to  attend  quorum 
meetings,  quorum  socials,  work  on 
quorum  projects,  and  affiliate  them- 
selves in  other  ways  with  the  quorum. 

d.  Presidencies  Welfare  Visits 
Since    elders    quorum   presidencies 

have  a  definite  responsibility  in 
regards  to  the  economic  welfare  of 
quorum  members,  elders 'in  economic 
distress  should  be  visited  by  the 
presidencies  for  the  purpose  of  ascer- 
taining what  help  could  be  rendered. 
Helping  to  find  employment,  or  more 
advantageous  employment,  for  elders 
constitutes  a  major  opportunity  and 
responsibility  of  elders  quorum  presi- 
dencies. 

(Continued  on  page  670) 
667 


The  Presiding 


Success  in  Ward  Teaching  Requires  Unified  Effort 
of  Stake  and  Ward  Leaders  and  Ward  Teachers 


A  successful  ward  teaching  program, 
on  a  stake  basis,  is  a  process  of  com- 
plete co-operation.  Beginning  with  the 
stake  presidency  and  continuing  with 
members  of  the  high  council,  the  stake 
committee  on  ward  teaching,  bishoprics, 
division  supervisors,  secretaries,  ward 
teaching  instructors,  and  ward  teachers, 
the  united  effort  of  all  is  necessary  be- 
fore success  is  attained.  After  the  stake 
presidency  sets  up  the  objectives,  then 
it  is  the  responsibility  of  all  concerned 
to  work  -to  the  end  that  each  goal  may 
be  achieved. 

Some  leaders  have  become  discour- 
aged because  the  results  obtained  have 
not  been  what  they  were  hoping  for. 
There  are  also  those  who  feel  they  are 
on  the  verge  of  failure.  There  is  an 
old  proverb  that  says,  "Not  failure,  but 
low  aim,  is  often  our  greatest  weakness." 
It  is  our  opinion  that  few,  if  any,  have 
failed  in  the  promotion  of  the  ward 
teaching  program,  but  there  are  some 
whose  aims  have  not  been  as  high  as 
they  should  have  been.  Success  in  this 
program  is  not  spontaneous.  We  do  not 
drift  to  success.  It  comes  as  the  result 
of  following  well-integrated  plans  that 
call  for  constant  work  and  effort  on  the 
part  of  all  who  accept  the  responsibility 
of  participating. 

While  there  should  be  a  division  of 
responsibility,  no  leader  can  delegate 
his  share  of  the  work  to  someone  else 
and  at  the  same  time  expect  progress. 
The  stake  presidency  is  responsible  for 
keeping  the  stake  Committee  on  ward 
teaching  organized  and  functioning.  It 
is  also  its  responsibility  to  set  up  proper 
objectives  and  give  continuous  direction 
to  the  program.  The  stake  committee 
is  responsible  for  the  over-all  promotion 
of  the  work  on  both  stake  and  ward 
levels  and  is  responsible  to  the  stake 
presidency  for  the  promotion  of  this 
program. 

The  bishop  should  wholeheartedly  di- 
rect the  ward  teaching  program  in  the 
ward.  His  counselors  should  share  this 
responsibility  with  him.  Each  member 
of  the  bishopric  is  expected  to  direct  the 
work  in  one  of  the  three  ward  teaching 
divisions  into  which  the  ward  is  divided. 
Division  supervisors,  working  under  the 
direction  of  a  member  of  the  bishopric, 
should  relieve  them  of  detail  and  foot 
work,  but  report  at  regular  intervals 
the    progress    of    the    work.      Division 

668 


supervisors  are  key  men  in  this  program. 
They  are  the  motivators. 

Ward  teaching  instructors  should  in- 
spire ward  teachers  through  good  in- 
struction to  do  improved  teaching.  Stake 
and  ward  secretaries  should  keep  their 
reports   currently   up    to   date. 

Ward  teachers  are  on  the  front  line. 
There  can  be  no  success  unless  they  do 
their  duty  well.  They  are  the  defenders 
of  the  faith,  watchmen  on  the  tower. 
If  they  "see  that  all  the  members  do 
their  duty,"  there  will  be  improvement 
and  progress.  If  all  of  those  named  are 
aiming  to  visit  ninety  percent  of  the 
families  in  the  stake  each  month  and 
are  sincerely  working  to  achieve  this 
record,  the  chances  for  accomplishing 
this  objective  are  far  greater  than  if  no 
goal  has  been  set  or  the  aim  is  con- 
siderably lower.  It  is  better  to  aim  for 
the  stars  and  only  reach  the  mountain- 
top  than  to  have  no  aim  at  all. 


Check  Individual 
Award  Records  Now 

Each  year  we  make  an  appeal  to  our 
stake  and  ward  leaders  of  Aaronic 
Priesthood  under  21  to  make  a  careful 
cumulative  check  of  each  boy's  record 
from  the  first  of  the  year.  We  repeat 
and  emphasize  the  appeal  now. 

Each  year  it  is  sad  to  note  how  many 
boys  fail  to  earn  their  individual  awards 
by  such  narrow  margins  as  to  indicate 
they  were  not  given  the  consideration 
and  personal  care  they  needed  earlier 
in  the  year. 

It  is  also  sad  to  note  how  many  mem- 
bers of  bishoprics  are  obliged  to  assume 
full  responsibility  for  one  or  more 
failures  in  the  award  program.  The 
brethren  are  embarrassed  since  we  can- 
not grant  awards  unless  the  minimum 
requirements  are  met.  We  do  not  make 
exceptions.  It  is  unfortunate  when  a 
boy  fails  because  of  his  own  neglect. 
But  when  a  young  man  fails  because  his 
leader  failed  to  do  his  share,  it  is  par- 
ticularly sad. 

There  are  four  months  remaining  in 
this  year.  Let  us  make  them  pay  divi- 
dends especially  in  boys  brought  back 
into  activity  or  induced  to  become  more 
active. 


Kenneth  Hubbs 

"Mormon"  Boy  Wins  Acclaim 

The  American  Legion  award  "for  the 
best  all-around  boy,"  presented  in  honor 
of  the  late  Edward  Carrey,  active 
Legionnaire  and  long-time  member  of 
the  Colton  Union  High  School  faculty, 
went  to  Kenneth  Hubbs,  Colton  Ward, 
San  Bernardino  (California)  Stake. 

Kenneth  lettered  in  every  sport  in 
junior  high  school  last  year  and  "dis- 
played excellent  citizenship  on  campus 
and  in'  classes." 

He  is  president  of  the  deacons'  quo- 
rum and  a  first  class  Scout. 


AWARD  RECORDS 
Record  to  August  1,  1955 

Stake  Awards 23 

Ward  Awards 611 

100%  Seals 3,043 

Aaronic  Priesthood  Pins  6,720 

Priests    _ 7,183 

Teachers 7,326 

Deacons 9,680 

Total  Individual  Awards  ....24,189 

Last  Year's  Record — Total 

Stake  Awards 12 

Ward   Awards 364 

100%  Seals 1,711 

Priests 3,305 

Teachers    5,065 

Deacons 9,775 

Total  Individual  Awards  ....18,145 


THE'  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


Bishoprics  Page 

Ward  Aaronk  Priesthood  Leadership  Meeting 
to  Include  YMMIA  leaders  in  Part  One 


Prepared  by  Lee  A.  Palmer 


Bishops  are  reminded  that  YMMIA 
leaders  of  young  men  12  to  21,  as 
designated  by  the  general  board,  are  to 
attend  part  one  of  the  ward  Aaronie 
Preisthood  leadership  meeting  each 
month. 

Attendance  of  these  auxiliary  leaders 
is  the  responsibility  of  the  YMMIA 
superintendency. 

The  same  order  of  business  for  part 
one  is  to  be  followed  as  outlined  in  the 
Aaronie  Priesthood  Handbook  except 
that,  in  addition,  the  bishopric  will 
give  such  personal  direction  to  the  cor- 
relation and  distribution  of  recreational 
activities  for  young  men  of  Aaronie 
Priesthood  ages  as  will  give  each  of  the 
two  organizations  its  rightful  share  of 
these  attractions  for  young  men. 

The  bringing  of  the  YMMIA  leaders 
to  the  leadership  meeting  does  not  imply 
in  any  way  that  they  are  responsible 
for  all  recreation  for  young  men.  The 
Aaronie  Priesthood  leaders  have  always 
had  a  specific  responsibility  to  institute 
and  carry  forward  a  priesthood  social 
and  recreational  program  of  their  own. 
Of  course,  it  is  urged  that  Aaronie 
Priesthood  and  YMMIA  leaders  always 
co-operate  with  each  other  in  such 
events.  But  each  organization  has  its 
specific  responsibility  in  this  matter,  and 

■  ♦  ■ 

Ordinations  Should  Be 
Performed  Promptly 

We  have  reason  to  believe  that,  in 
some  instances,  worthy  boys  are  not 
being  ordained  teachers  at  fourteen  and 
priests  at  sixteen  as  authorized  by  the 
First  Presidency  and  as  announced  by 
the  Presiding  Bishopric  last  October. 

The  authorized  schedule  for  ordina- 
tion to,  and  advancement  in,  the  Aaron- 
ie Priesthood  is  as  follows: 

Deacons .12  years  of  age 

Teachers  14  years  of  age 

Priests 16  years  of  age 

Bishops  should  recommend  worthy 
young  men  to  the  stake  presidency  for 
ordination  to  elders  at  age  nineteen. 

Stake  committees  should  follow 
through  with  each  bishopric  to  guard 
against  any  neglect  in  the  matter  of 
priesthood  ordinations  and  advance- 
ments. 

SEPTEMBER  1955 


one's  responsibility  or  program  is  not 
to  be  delegated  to  the  other. 

Part  one  of  the  ward  Aaronie  Priest- 
hood leadership  meeting  simply  provides 
the  bishopric  with  the  opportunity  to 
( 1 )  inquire  of  Aaronie  Priesthood  and 
YMMIA  leaders  as  to  the  nature  and 
extent  of  recreational  activities  for  boys 
for  the  coming  month,  etc.,  (2)  make 
any  necessary  adjustments  to  avoid  con- 
flicts or  unequal  distribution  of  such 
events  between  the  two  organizations, 
(3)  assign  either  or  both  groups  of 
leaders,  when  necessary,  to  a  more 
vigorous  promotion  of  this  part  of  our 
program  for  young  men. 

When  part  one  of  the  meeting  is 
ended,  the  YMMIA  leaders  separate  into 
their  own  meeting,  while  the  bishopric 
and  the  Aaronie  Priesthood  leaders  con- 
tinue with  parts  two  and  three  as  out- 
lined in  the  Aaronie  Priesthood  Hand- 
book. 


Robert  Lloyd 


Robert  Oliphant 


Challenging  Award  Records 

Challenging  award  records  come  in 
pairs  in  the  Hillcrest  Ward,  Sharon 
(Utah)  Stake. 

Robert  (left),  a  convert  to  the  Church, 
has  earned  five  individual  Aaronie 
Priesthood  awards,  and  Robert  (right) 
has  earned  seven  awards  in  as  many 
years.  Both  have  earned  the  Aaronie 
Priesthood  pin. 


DEACONS,   SHREVEPORT   WARD,  DALLAS    (TEXAS)    STAKE, 
SET  CHALLENGING  ACTIVITY  RECORD 


Front  row,  left  to  right,  Floyd  M.  Yates,  adviser;  Hershel  Culpepper,  secretary;  Joe 
B.  Burns,  second  counselor;  Parris  G.  Cobb,  first  counselor;  Karl  M.  Larsen,  quorum 
president. 

Back  row,  Kyle  W.  Stephenson,  Roger  Strickland,  James  Ray  Hildebrand,  Jerry  D. 
Strickland,  Kelly  Strickland,  John  A.  Roberts,  Mike  Strickland,  Don  S.  Hildebrand. 

We  are  delighted  to  direct  attention  to  the  excellent  record  of  these  deacons 
in  the  Shreveport  (Louisiana)  Ward  of  the  young  Dallas  Stake. 

According  to  Albert  T.  Bell,  Jr.,  secretary  of  the  ward  committee,  these  dea- 
cons filled  370  priesthood  assignments  during  May;  they  serve  as  junior  compan- 
ions in  ward  teaching;  they  gather  fast  offerings  regularly;  they  are  efficient  ushers 
in  both  sacrament  meeting  and  Sunday  School.  Their  quorum  service  project  is 
to  keep  the  meetinghouse  grounds  clean  and  the  grass  cut  regularly. 

Congratulations  to  Bishop  Frank  Howard  Turner  and  his  counselors,  Marion 
Francis  Barnhill  and  Donald  O.  Funk,  for  their  leadership  as  the  presidency  of 
the  Aaronie  Priesthood  in  Shreveport. 

669 


Of 


WHm«k 


it's  yours 


with  a  ribbon  'round  it 


OUR  NEW  BESTWAY  SERVICE  MAKES 

HOME  OWNERS  OUT  OF 

HOME  WANTERS  IN  JIG  TIME! 


There's  a  time  for  dreaming  .  .  .  but  not  when  you're 
ready  to  build  a  new  home!  That's  the  time  you 
want  action  and  action  is  just  what  we're  prepared 
to  give.  First,  we'll  help  you  to  prepare  your  credit 
report  and  take  care  of  other  important  preliminary 
steps.  Then  we  can  help  you  choose  a  plan  from 
among  the  hundreds  of  modern  ones  available. 
Then  we'll  start  selecting  the  quality  materials  to  go 
into  the  new  structure  while  we're  lining  up  a  com- 
petent, reliable  local  contractor.  And  finally,  we'll 
make  you  a  construction  loan  to  get  your  new  home 
underway.  It's  a  finer,  faster  way  to  build.  Come 
in  today  and  find  out  about  BESTWAY. 


61 


ifflBIEB? '" 

time  payment  plan -J 


Here's  the  milk  that  helps 
you  be  a  better  cook! 


670 


_  i 


Melchizedek  Priesthood 

{Continued  from  page  667) 

Third — Presidencies  to  Care  for  the 
Personal  Welfare  of  Quorum  Mem- 
bers 

Elders  quorum  presidencies  are  to 
be  cognizant  of  their  responsibilities 
to  help  each  elder  in  his  respective 
quorum  to  attain  a  degree  of  economic 
independence  and  well-being  that  will 
assure  him  adequate  food,  clothing, 
fuel,  housing,  other  physical  com- 
forts, and  educational  advantages  for 
himself  and  his  family. 

Elders  quorum  presidencies  should 
be  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the 
economic  condition  of  each  quorum 
member  and  with  his  capabilities  so 
that  they  can  intelligently  watch  for 
and  take  advantage  of  every  oppor- 
tunity to  improve  the  economic  status 
of  each  quorum  member.  When  jobs 
arise  which  would  be  to  the  economic 
advantage  of  any  member  of  the  quo- 
rum, steps  should  be  taken  immedi- 
ately to  secure  such  positions  for  the 
quorum  member.  Certainly  the 
presidency  would  work  through  com- 
mittees and  the  quorum  members  in 
general  to  accomplish  these  desirable 
goals. 

Fourth — Presidencies  to  Support  the 
Church  Welfare  Program 

One  of  the  duties  of  the  elders 
quorum  presidencies  is  to  see  that  one 
of  their  members  serves  on  the  ward 
welfare  committee  and  to  co-operate 
with  the  bishop  in  supplying  elders  to 
help  carry  forward  the  Church  wel- 
fare program. 

Fifth — Elders  Quorum  Presidencies  to 
Devise  Means  and  Ways  to  Get 
Every  Member  Active  in  the  Priest- 
hood and  in  Rendering  Obedience 
to  God's  Commandments 

No  elders  presidency  should  rest 
contentedly  when  one  or  more  of  the 
quorum  members  are  not  active  in  the 
Melchizedek  Priesthood  and  are  not 
living  fully  in  harmony  with  God's 
commandments.  Remember  the  Sav- 
ior's parables  of  the  lost  coin  and  the 
lost  sheep.  All  quorum  presidencies 
are  to  search  out  the  ones  who  have 
strayed  from  the  main  body  of  the 
flock — i.e.,  those  who  are  not  taking 
advantage  of  all  the  opportunities  of- 
fered by  the  quorum.  It  should  be 
remembered  that  quorum  presidencies 
should  devise  every  means  possible  to 
THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


bring  the  less  active  members  into 
full  activity.  This  in  itself  is  an  as- 
signment which  challenges  the  most 
capable  leaders,  taxing  their  ingenuity 
to  the  limit.  It  is  expected  that  the 
members  of  the  most  humble  quorum 
presidency,  as  well  as  of  those  more 
highly  trained,  will  do  their  very  best 
at  all  times — and  that  is  all  that  any 
quorum  presidency  can  do.  God  ex- 
pects no  more — but  he  does  expect 
that  much;  and  he  will  give  a  full 
measure  of  reward  to  his  servants  who 
do  their  very  best  at  all  times  to  build 
up  the  kingdom  of  the  Master  by 
magnifying  their  callings  in  the  Mel- 
chizedek  Priesthood  to  the  best  of 
their  abilities. 

Therefore,  O  ye  that  embark  in  the  serv- 
ice of  God,  see  that  ye  serve  him  with  all 
your  heart,  might,  mind  and  strength,  that 
ye  may  stand  blameless  before  God  at  the 
last  day.* 


mid.,  4:2. 


(To  be  continued) 


Presumptuous  Sins 


(Concluded  from  page  623) 

Abinadi  tells  us  why. 

...  all  those  that  have  perished  in  their 
sins  ever  since  the  world  began,  that  have 
wilfully  rebelled  against  God,  that  have 
known  the  commandments  of  God,  and 
would  not  keep  them;  these  are  they  that 
have  no  part  in  the  Erst  resurrection. 
(Mosiah  15:26.) 

Deliberate,  wilful  disobedience  to 
the  laws  of  God  was  in  the  beginning 
among  the  greatest  of  sins.  It  has 
been  so  through  the  ages.  It  is  no 
less  so  now  that  we  approach  the  final 
scenes  of  God's  great  drama  in  that 
era  seen  in  vision  by  all  the  past  great 
prophets  and  about  which  they  wrote 
with  awesome  pen. 

Light  and  knowledge  was  to  char- 
acterize this  dispensation.  It  does. 
Greater  things  are  yet  to  come.  It  is 
the  highest  of  honors  to  play  a  part 
in  this  unfolding  drama.  Where 
much  light  is  given  much  activity  is 
expected. 

The  quickest  way  to  cut  down  our 
effectiveness  is  through  presumptuous 
sin. 


SUMMER  STREAM 

By  Pauline  Havard 

i~|uT  IN  the  quiet,  country  dark 
^    Where    summer   fragrances    abound, 
We  hear  the  river  rippling  past, 
Lacing  the  night  with  silver  sound. 

A  bird  sings  once  and  then  is  still, 
Followed   by   rustling  wings   in  flight; 
The  listening  stream  takes  up  the  air 
And  threads  its  echo  through  the  night. 
SEPTEMBER  1955 


Everything  it  takes 
to  be 

TOPS 


UTOCO 

GASOLINES 


Balanced 

for  Top  Performance 

For  All  Cars  in  this  Area 

MORE  POWER 
GREATER  ECONOMY 

•  Longer  Mileage  •     Cleaner  Burning 

•     Non-corrosive 

SMOOTHER  OPERATION 

•  High  Anti-knock  •     No  Vapor  Lock 

•  Quick  Starts  •      Fast  Warm  Up 

•     Smooth  Acceleration 

For  happiest  motoring, 

stop  at  UTOCO  stations 

— clean  rest  rooms 
— finest,  friendly  service 
—highest  quality  motor  oil 
—specialized  lubrication 


You  expect  more  from  UTOCO  and  you  get  it ! 

&^  0ub  3emfiie  'View  ^inina  ^Retim 


Rooms  for  parties  and  meetings 


Good  Food 
Reasonable  Prices 
A  Treat  For 
All  The  Family 


671 


(Concluded  from  page  637) 
T^d  called  Mitch  into  the  office  with 
■^  Lyle  Gordon.  He  went  almost 
reluctantly.  He  might  as  well  get  it 
over  with.  He  took  a  deep  shaky 
breath  as  he  drew  up  a  chair  beside 
them.  Gordon  took  the  drawings 
and  looked  them  over. 

He  discussed  them  in  detail,  and 
whenever  he  questioned  Ed,  Mitch 
heard  himself  backing  him  up.  He 
was  nodding  his  head  and  saying 
"yes"  to  Ed  over  and  over  again. 

"These  look  fine,"  Lyle  said  after 
the  discussion  ended.  "I  see  a  change 
or  two  I'd  like  to  make,  but  they're 
not  bad." 

"They're  awful!"  Mitch  said. 

He  felt  his  face  flame  red.  He 
hadn't  meant  to  say  that,  but  it  had 
slipped  out,  unbidden.  He  felt  a  sud- 
den surge  of  recklessness. 

Good-bye  promotion,  good-bye  job! 
Some  anniversary  present  for  Anne! 
He  began  to  feel  a  little  sick.  He'd 
finally  shot  off  his  mouth.  He'd  said 
"Yes"  too  many  times  today  and  for 
the  last  few  weeks. 

"They  aren't  what  you  want," 
Mitch  rushed  on.  "You're  Lyle  Gor- 
don. You've  got  a  big  name,  you 
want  a  building  with  distinction!" 

Lyle  Gordon  continued  to  stare  at 
him,  and  he  could  feel  Ed's  carefully 
controlled  anger. 

"I  think  you'd  better  leave,  Mitch. 
I  think  Mr.  Gordon  is  capable  of  de- 
ciding what  kind  of  building  he 
wants,"  Ed  said. 

Mitch  rose  uneasily  to  his  feet.  He 
somehow  couldn't  feel  too  sorry  for 
what  he'd  done.  It  was  something  that 
had  been  building  inside  him  for  too 
long.  It  had  to  break  loose  sometime. 
Maybe  now  that  tiny  voice  would  be 
stilled  and  wouldn't  scream  at  him 
in  his  sleep. 

"I  had  to  speak  my  mind,  Ed.  I've 
got  to  build  the  kind  of  things  I  know 
are  right,"  Mitch  said.  "Otherwise 
I'm  cheating  myself." 

He  turned  and  went  out  of  the 
office.  Bert  Ellis  looked  up  at  him 
with  a  question  in  his  eyes. 

"It's  all  yours,"  Mitch  said,  with 
a  wave  of  his  hand. 

He  picked  up  his  hat  and  left  the 
building.  He  walked  the  streets  for 
awhile,  wondering  how  he  could 
break  the  news  to  Anne.  He  decided 
finally  he'd  wait  until  the  party  was 
over.  He'd  make  some  explanation 
for  Ed's  absence.    Probably  the  other 

672 


THE  TINY  VOICE 

fellows  wouldn't  show  up  either. 
After  all  they  had  their  own  interests 
to  look  out  for,  and  they'd  string  along 
with  Ed. 

He  ate  a  late  lunch  and  went  home, 
hoping  that  Anne  wouldn't  ask  too 
many  questions.  He  was  relieved  to 
find  her  too  excited  about  the  party  to 
wonder  why  he  was  home  so  early. 
He'd  have  to  find  somewhere  else  to 
work,  and  that  wasn't  going  to  be 
easy. 

"Anything  wrong?"    Anne  asked. 

"No,  of  course  not,"  he  said,  trying 
to  sound  cheerful.  "What  do  you 
want  me  to  do?" 

He  helped  her  get  their  small  house 
in  order,  dried  the  dishes  for  her,  and 
did  a  million  other  chores. 

T^he  guests  began  to  arrive,  and  the 
■*■  living  room  was  buzzing  with 
voices.  The  doorbell  rang  again,  and 
he  went  to  answer  it.  He  stepped 
back  with  surprise  when  he  saw  Ed. 

"Happy  anniversary,  Mitch,"  he 
said,  offering  his  hand. 

"Glad  you  could  come.  Thank 
you." 

"I  want  to  talk  to  you,"  Ed  said 
bluntly. 

"Now?" 

"Right  now,"  Ed  said.  "How  about 
the  den?" 

"All  right,"  Mitch  said. 

He  was  in  for  it.  Ed  was  going  to 
give  him  a  good  dressing  down.  He 
supposed  he  deserved  it,  but  he 
wished  that  he  would  have  at  least 
waited  until  tomorrow. 

He  followed  Ed  into  the  den  and 
closed  the  door.  Ed  sat  down,  and 
for  a  moment  there  was  not  a  sound 
in  the  room  but  the  muffled  voices 
that  echoed  back  from  the  party. 

"Just  what  got  into  you  today?" 
Ed  asked. 

"Well,  Ed,  I— " 

"Speak  up,  Mitch." 

"I  just  didn't  like  the  plans,"  Mitch 
finally  said. 

"Why  didn't  you  say  so  before?" 
Ed  asked,  darting  him  a  quick  glance. 
"You  used  to  speak  up.  That  was 
one  of  the  main  reasons  I  hired  you." 

"I  guess  I  had  promotion-itis," 
Mitch  said  with  a  sigh. 

"Hmm,"  Ed  frowned.  "You  know 
you  could  have  cost  us  one  of  our 
biggest  deals." 

"I  know,"  Mitch  replied.  "I'm  sor- 
ry, I  should  have  known  better.  I 
was  just  sick  of  agreeing  and  trying 
to  pretend  I  thought  everything  was 


so  fine.  I've  wanted  to  scream  'no' 
a  thousand  times  in  the  past  few 
weeks." 

"Needless  to  say,  Lyle  Gordon  was 
impressed." 

"You  mean  he  wasn't  sore?"  Mitch 
asked  incredulously. 

"Oh,  a  little.  But  maybe  he  saw 
some  of  himself  in  you.  Gordon's  a 
big  man;  he  gets  what  he  goes  after." 

"What  about  the  building?"  Mitch 
asked. 

"What  about  it?"  Ed  asked,  smil- 
ing. "If  I  know  you,  you've  got  some 
pretty  wild  ideas  chasing  around  in 
your  head." 

"Well,"  Mitch  replied,  "come  over 
here.     I'll  show  you  what  I've  got." 

He  whirled  the  drawing  board 
around  and  dug  some  papers  out  of 
the  desk.  Ed  studied  them  for  a  long 
while.  Mitch  watched  his  face 
anxiously. 

"Bring  them  to  the  office  tomorrow 
morning,"  Ed  said.  "I  think  Gordon 
will  want  to  see  these." 

"Whew!"  Mitch  sighed,  unable  to 
hide  his  relief.  "I  was  afraid  I'd 
have  to  tell  Anne  I'd  been  fired.  That 
would  have  been  some  anniversary 
present." 

"You  were  right  in  standing  up  on 
your  own  two  feet,"  Ed  said.  "Maybe 
I  won't  always  agree  with  you,  but 
be  yourself.  Nothing's  worth  build- 
ing if  it's  not  your  honest  best.  Re- 
member that." 

Mitch  nodded  his  head.  Ed  slapped 
him  hard  on  the  back. 

"Come  on,  boy,  this  is  supposed 
to  be  a  party." 

Mitch  laughed  and  opened  the  door 
for  Ed.  He  glanced  once  more  over 
his  shoulder  at  the  drawings  on  the 
desk.  He  couldn't  hold  down  the  grin 
that  spread  over  his  face. 

"jl/f aybe  he'd  get  to  see  those  draw- 
•*-*-*•  ings  come  to  life  yet.  Mitch  had 
a  fierce,  intense  desire  to  build  that 
building  for  Lyle  Gordon.  This  was 
something  all  his  own,  and  he  knew 
if  he  fought  for  it  it  would  live. 

"By  the  way,"  Ed  said,  "tell  Anne 
the  promotion  is  yours  starting  next 
month." 

Mitch  felt  surprise  leap  to  his 
throat.  Ed  was  grinning,  enjoying 
the  baffled  look  on  his  face. 

"Where's  Anne?"  Mitch  asked.  He 
hurried  towards  the  kitchen  looking 
for  her.  He  heard  Ed's  amused 
chuckle  behind  him.  What  an  anni- 
versary.    What  an  anniversary! 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


Choose  Your  CHURCH  University 
For  a  BALANCED  EDUCATION 


1-academic 


Leadership  in  the  technical 
world  is  reserved  for  those 
with  specialized  training. 
BYU  offers  this  training 
in  47  departments,  taught 
by  an  outstanding  faculty 
with  finest  equipment. 


2-spiritual 


Spiritual  growth,  too,  is  a 
vital  part  of  the  BYU 
program.  Inspired  Church 
leaders  visit  the  campus 
regularly  to  guide  and 
counsel  in  devotional  as- 
semblies. 


3-physical 


Here  also  is  exceptional 
opportunity  to  develop  and 
maintain  a  sound  body  for 
the  sound  mind  during 
vital  college  years  BYU 
facilities  are  unexcelled  in 
the  mountain  area. 


Freshman  Orientation Sept.  22,  23,  24 

Registration  Sept.  26,  27 


For  free  catalog  or  information  write  to 
Registrar's    Office,    BYU,    Provo,    Utah 


BRIGHAM  YOUNG  UNIVERSITY 


SEPTEMBER  1955 


673 


SCIENCE  EDUCATION  IN  UTAH  AND  THE  CHURCH 


(Continued-  from  page  635) 

seminaries  in  Salt  Lake  City,  at- 
tempted a  number  of  years  ago  to 
seek  the  cause  of  this  enthusiasm  for 
education  in  Utah  and  started  a  re- 
search on  this  subject.  He  communi- 
cated with  many  scientists  in  the 
intermountain  west  and  put  before 
them  a  number  of  rather  pointed 
questions.  In  a  letter  to  the  writer 
he  said: 

As    you   may    know,    Utah    produces    per 
capita    approximately    thirty    percent    more 


men  eminent  in  science  than  does  any  other 
state,  according  to  a  survey  made  of  Ameri- 
can Men  of  Science  by  Dr.  Edward  L.  Thorn- 
dike  of  Columbia  University  Teacher's  Col- 
lege. 

Utah's  lead  in  this  respect  may  be  signifi- 
cant. What  it  signifies  is  yet  to  be  dis- 
covered. It  is  for  help  incident  to  research 
on  this  subject  that  this  letter  is  written 
to  you,  one  of  America's  men  of  science 
from  the  intermountain  region. 

At  this  stage  we  are  attempting  to  deter- 
mine what  part,  if  any,  the  Mormon  Church 
played  in  the  production  of  the  intermoun- 
tain men  of  science.  Since,  of  all  differ- 
ences between  Utah   and   other  states,   the 


DA.Lt jl> *yy 1JS ...brings greater  scope  to  Electronic  Organs 


Baldwin  superiority  in  the  electronic  organ 
brings  the  rich  heritage  and  spiritual  atmos- 
phere of  the  finest  in  traditional  music 
within  the  reach  of  every  church.  For 
Baldwin  excels  in  both  range  and  fidelity 
of  true  organ  tone.  Standard  controls  and 
responsive  action  make  the  Baldwin  easiest 


of  all  organs  to  play.  A  full  range  of  models 
allows  you  to  select  a  Baldwin  best  suited 
to  your  individual  needs.  For  most  in  organ 
quality,  performance  and  value,  Baldwin  is 
your  logical  choice. 

Contact  your  Baldwin  dealer  or  write  for 
specific  information. 


Baldwin  will  finance  your  purchase  of  any  Baldwin  Organ  or  Piano.  Ask 
your  dealer  or  write  for  details  of  this  manufacturer -customer  service. 

Baldwin  builds  a  complete  line  of  pianos  for  church  and  educational  needs. 

THE  BALDWIN  PIANO  COMPANY 

Organ  Division 
Cincinnati  2,  Ohio 


Please  send  full  informa- 
tion on  the  following: 

□  Church  Organs 

□  Home  Organs 

□  Pianos 

□  Finance  Plan 


I 

674 


The  Baldwin  Piano  Company,  Organ  Div.  Dept.  IE-95 
1801  Gilbert  Ave.,  Cincinnati  2,  Ohio 

Name 


Address . 
City.... 


.Zone State. 


influence  of  this  Church  is  perhaps  the  most 
significant,  these  inquiries  are  being  made 
in  the  present  form. 

In  answer  to  him,  the  writer  could 
do  no  better  than  to  quote  from  our 
Church  literature,  particularly  the  in- 
spired words  of  the  Prophet  as  they 
are  recorded  in  the  Doctrine  and 
Covenants  and  Documentary  History 
of  the  Church: 

"The  glory  of  God  is  intelli- 
gence. .  .  ."  (D.  &  C.  93:36.) 

"It  is  impossible  for  a  man  to  be 
saved  in  ignorance."  (Ibid.,  131:6.) 

"A  man  is  saved  no  faster  than  he 
gets  knowledge."  (D.H.C.  4:588.) 

"Whatever  principle  of  intelligence 
we  attain  unto  in  this  life,  it  will  rise 
with  us  in  the  resurrection. 

"And  if  a  person  gains  more  knowl- 
edge and  intelligence  in  this  life 
through  his  diligence  and  obedience 
than  another,  he  will  have  so  much 
the  advantage  in  the  world  to  come." 
(D.  &  C.  130:18-19.) 

These  quotations  and  many  others 
are  found  in  the  Doctrine  and  Cove- 
nants and  the  compiled  revelations 
of  Joseph  Smith  and  are  accepted 
today  along  with  the  Bible  and  Book 
of  Mormon  as  a  standard  guide.  These 
are  cardinal  principles  laid  down  by 
a  great  and  inspired  prophet.  They 
are  but  a  part  of  the  greater  philoso- 
phy and  religion,  the  true  greatness 
of  which  can  never  be  told. 

The  Prophet  Joseph  Smith  had  a 
great  desire  to  know  the  truth,  and 
along  with  this  desire  was  a  great 
humility,  realizing  that  in  order  to 
know  he  must  search  and  find. 
Through  prayer,  study,  and  hard 
work,  he  received  the  inspiration  that 
gave  us  our  doctrines,  our  organiza- 
tions, our  institutions,  and  our  prac- 
tices in  our  present  daily  life.  The 
Prophet  gathered  about  him  great 
souls  of  unlimited  faith  but  of  little 
knowledge  of  the  affairs  and  learning 
of  the  world  in  which  they  lived. 

So  keen  did  they  feel  the  necessity 
of  gaining  more  of  the  knowledge  of 
the  world  so  that  they  could  better 
compete  with  the  world  in  the  solu- 
tion of  their  problems,  that  the  Proph- 
et, through  revelation,  established  the 
School  of  the  Prophets  in  Kirtland, 
Ohio,  December  27,  1833,  wherein 
they  were  to  be  taught  history,  lan- 
guages, literature,  science,  mathe- 
matics, and  religion.  In  fact,  from 
direct  quotations  we  have: 

Teach  ye  diligently  and  my  grace  shall 
attend  you,  that  you  may  be  instructed  more 
perfectly  in  theory,  in  principle,  in  doctrine, 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


in  the  law  of  the  gospel,  in  all  things  that 
pertain  unto  the  kingdom  of  God,  that  are 
expedient  for  you  to  understand; 

Of  things  both  in  heaven  and  in  the  earth, 
and  under  the  earth;  things  which  have 
been,  things  which  are,  things  which  must 
shortly  come  to  pass;  things  which  are  at 
home,  things  which  are  abroad;  the  wars 
and  the  perplexities  of  the  nations,  and  the 
judgments  which  are  on  the  land;  and  a 
knowledge  also  of  countries  and  of  king- 
doms— 

And  as  all  have  not  faith,  seek  ye  dili- 
gently and  teach  one  another  words  of  wis- 
dom; yea,  seek  ye  out  of  the  best  books  words 
of  wisdom;  seek  learning  even  by  study  and 
also  by  faith.   (Ibid.,  88:78-79,   118.) 

And  set  in  order  the  churches,  and  study 
and  learn,  and  become  acquainted  with  all 
good  books,  and  with  languages,  tongues, 
and  people.    (Ibid.,  90:15.) 

And  do  thou  grant,  Holy  Father,  that  all 
those  who  shall  worship  in  this  house  may 
be  taught  words  of  wisdom  out  of  the  best 
books,  and  that  they  may  seek  learning  even 
by  study,  and  also  by  faith,  as  thou  has 
said;  .  .  .  (Ibid.,  109:14.) 

Likewise  in  the  city  of  Nauvoo,  they 
were  no  sooner  established  there  than 
they  had  included  in  their  charter  as 
of  December  16,  1840,  a  draft  for  a 
university  which  called  for  a  chan- 
cellor, a  registrar,  and  twenty-three 
regents.  Steps  were  taken  immedi- 
ately to  establish  this  university  in 
Nauvoo.  Great  Church  leaders  like 
Brigham  Young,  John  Taylor,  Wil- 
ford  Woodruff,  and  Orson  Pratt, 
astronomer  and  scientist;  Parley  P. 
Pratt,  philosopher;  and  many  others 
through  whom  they  were  able  to  ac- 
complish tremendous  tasks,  took  ad- 
vantage of  this  opportunity.  In  fact, 
Orson  Pratt,  who  was  relatively  un- 
learned when  he  entered  the  Church, 
became  one  of  the  great  astronomers 
and  scientists  of  his  day.  He  wrote 
textbooks  on  celestial  mechanics  and 
the  calculus.  He  surveyed  the  way 
into  Salt  Lake  Valley  in  1847,  and 
through  his  calculation  on  the  stars 
he  established  the  prime  meridian  and 
base  line  at  the  corner  of  South  Tem- 
ple and  Main  streets  which  served  as 
the  basis  for  most  of  the  surveys  made 
thereafter  in  Utah.  In  1869  when 
the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  of 
the  United  States  government  re-sur- 
veyed these  areas  with  the  best-trained 
engineers  and  the  most  precise  instru- 
ments, the  intersection  of  their  base 
line  and  prime  meridian  was  not  far 
from  that  established  twenty-two 
years  earlier  by  Orson  Pratt.  This  is 
a  wonderful  testimony  to  the  stimula- 
tion given  for  learning  by  our  religious 
leaders  and  our  ideals  for  intellectual 
development. 
SEPTEMBER  1955 


When  these  men  arrived  in  Salt 
Lake  Valley  they  were  again  inspired 
to  carry  on  these  educational  ideas. 
In  1850  they  established  the  Univer- 
sity of  Deseret  (later  the  University 
of  Utah).  In  1875  Brigham  Young 
Academy  was  established  by  Brig- 
ham Young;  and  when  he  chose  Karl 
G.  Maeser  as  the  first  principal,  he 
instructed  him  to  establish  this  insti- 
tution with  the  ideal — "Do  not  teach 
the  alphabet  or  the  multiplication 
tables  without  the  Spirit  of  God." 
This  same  ideal  was  reflected  in  the 

ceremonies  incident  to  the  dedication 

of  the  Physical   Science  Building   at 


Brigham  Young  University  when  the 
late  Dean  Carl  F.  Eyring  had  this  to 
say  concerning  the  study  of  science: 

I  hope  you  will  appreciate  this  building 
and  take  care  of  it.  Those  of  us  that  will 
learn  science  here:  I  hope,  above  all  else, 
that  we  must  learn  that  to  be  a  good  scien- 
tist, the  person  must  also  be  a  good  person, 
an  integrated  person  with  faith  in  God  and 
a  performance  in  righteousness  beyond  re- 
proach. 

...  I  expect  you  young  scientists  to  search 
for  God's  truth  in  the  laboratory.  You  may 
not  alone  be  able  to  give  us  the  answers  but, 
working  co-operatively,  as  we  worked  to 
build  this  building,  you  can  build  the 
knowledge  which  will  help  us  all  to  live 
longer,  to  live  more  nobly  and  more  abun- 
dantly. 


POWER  UP 
»  P0W£B-X 


Power-Primed 
with  Rocket  Fuel 


A/eiv  l-Iigh  /h  Octane .  New  Rocket  Ce/away 
A/ew  Su/ber  Power  -  A/ew  f-/igh  lh  Mileage 
Rust- proof. . .  S?a//-/)/oof 


mY/>  RD-II9 


Add  power  you  can 

feel  by  also  using  Sinclair 

Extra  Duty  Motor  Oil 


Ask  your  Sinclair  Dealer  for  the  New  Premium  Gasoline  . , . 

SINCLAIR 
POWER -X 


675 


Lena  Glaus 


Lena  Glaus— Her  Art 


With  a  little  shrug  of  the  shoulder 
Lena  Glaus  smiled,  "I  guess  I 
was  just  a  natural-born  cook 
and  baker,"  and  her  comment  was 
most  apt,  for  those  who  are  ac- 
quainted with  Lena  and  Arthur 
Glaus  know  that  cooking  is  first  na- 
ture to  both  of  them.  But  in  spite  of 
being  "natural-born,"  Lena  laughed 
a  little  and  said  she  had  learned  many 
of  the  tricks  from  her  chef  husband 
as  they  cooked  together  profession- 
ally. "He  taught  me  how  to  make 
good  cakes  and  pies,  and  since  then 
nobody  can  keep  me  out  of  the 
kitchen." 

The  day  before  Christmas  1953, 
the  Arthur  Glauses  returned  to  Salt 
Lake  City  after  having  presided  over 
the  East  German  Mission  for  almost 
four  years.  There  Lena  truly  became 
a  mother  to  the  missionaries,  for  when 
time  would  permit  she  would  bring 
forth  from  the  oven  some  of  her 
famous  pies  or  special  homemade 
bread.  At  the  same  time  her  devo- 
tion to  her  mission  calling  was  much 
to  be  admired.  Her  work  with  the 
Church  auxiliaries  and  her  special  care 
of  hungry  and  homeless  refugees  from 
the  Russian  sector  of  Berlin  are  well- 
known  and  respected.  But  her  de- 
votion was  not  without  motivation, 
because  burning  within  the  heart  of 
Lena  Glaus  is  a  fervent  testimony  of 
the  truth  and  a  remembrance  of  a 
sacred  promise  made  to  the  Lord  in 
years  past  that  in  return  for  such  a 
testimony  she  would  always  serve  in 
every  calling  with  all  her  heart  and 
strength. 


a 


ession 


by  A I  lie  Howe 


A  comparable  earnestness  and  en- 
thusiasm is  felt  in  Lena  as  a  cook.  In 
discussing  some  of  her  recipes  she 
becomes  as  excited  as  if  she  were  a 
piano  virtuoso  describing  a  classic 
cadenza,  for  to  her  cooking  is  an  art, 
and  practice  makes  perfect.  By  a 
sniff,  a  glance,  or  a  tiny  taste,  Lena 
knows  just  what  more  her  recipe 
needs.  Perhaps  to  achieve  the  same 
effect  as  she  does  one  would  have  to 
cook  by  her  side,  but,  by  experiment- 
ing with  the  following  recipes,  the 
benefits  from  the  Lena  Glaus  talent 
can  be  enjoyed  in  any  home. 

Lena  has  been  very  generous  in 
giving  us  some  traditional  German 
recipes  that  will  be  of  special  inter- 
est, a  Lena  Glaus  USA  extra  for 
coffee  cake  and  a  special  lemon  pie 


recipe  for  ward  banquets.  Of  course 
this  can  be  reduced  as  desired  for 
family  baking. 

Sour  Pot  Roast 

(German  Style) 

1  lb.  lean  pot  roast 

1  large  onion 

bay  leaves  and  mixed  spices 

1  cup  wine  vinegar 

1  cup  water 

5  ounces  flour,  seasoned 

l/2  lb.  shortening 

1  teaspoon  salt 

1  cup  broth  or  bouillon 

Add  shredded  onion,  bay  leaves,  and 
spices  to  mixture  of  vinegar  and  water. 
Place  pot  roast  in  this  mixture  and  let 
stand  in  cool  place  three  to  four  days, 
turning  daily.    Remove  the  roast  at  end 


676 


A  German  Favorite:   sour  pot  roast  and  potato   pancakes. 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


of  that  time,  drip,  turn  in  flour,  and 
braise  in  hot  fat.  Brown  well  on  all 
sides.  Place  in  pot  roast  pan,  add 
bouillon  and  a  little  water  as  needed 
(approximately  one  cup),  cover,  and 
braise  until  done.  Make  a  pan  gravy 
(German  rue).  Garnish  roast  with 
sauted  diced  onions  and  serve  with  po- 
tato pancakes   and   red  cabbage. 

Potato  Pancakes 

1  large  raw  potato,  grated 

2  eggs 

2  teaspoons  flour 

Y2  teaspoon   baking   powder 

1  teaspoon  sugar 
Ys  (scant)  teaspoon  salt 

After  grating  the  potato,  strain  all  the 
water  from  it  carefully.  Put  potato  in 
bowl,  add  two  eggs,  sifted  dry  ingredi- 
ents, and  mix  well.  Fry  in  hot  grease 
until  brown  and  done.  Serve  hot; 
spread  with  butter  and  jam  or  apple- 
sauce, fresh  berries,  or  other  garnish  as 
desired. 

Wiener  Schnitzel 

4  servings  veal  cutlets 
flour 

salt 
pepper 

5  eggs 

bread  crumbs 

hot  fat,  butter,  or  shortening 

Roll  the  veal  cutlets  in  seasoned  flour 
lightly,  dip  in  batter  of  one  egg,  then 
roll  in  bread  crumbs.  Drop  in  one- 
inch  deep,  sizzling  grease,  and  cook 
until  done.  Serve  garnished  with  a  fried 
egg,  kaper  sauce,  and  spaghetti  or  but- 
tered noodles. 

Kaper  Sauce 

1  medium  onion,  diced  or  ground 

3  full  strips  of  bacon,  chopped 
Y4  cup  diced  drained  mushrooms 

melted  butter  to  taste 

1  tablespoon  flour 

Dice  the  onion  and  fry  with  chopped 
bacon.  When  both  are  done,  strain 
bacon  and  onion  from  grease,  return 
grease  to  pan,  add  flour,  diced  mush- 
rooms, melted  butter,  and  seasoning  to 
taste.     Serve  over  wiener  schnitzel. 

Smoked  Pork  Loin 

2  lbs.  Canadian  bacon 
2  cups  water 

1  onion,  diced  or  grated 
1  cup  broth  or  bouillon 
y2  cup  sour  cream  or  sour  milk 

Brown  the  meat  quickly.  Mix  to- 
gether all  other  ingredients,  smother  the 
meat  and  roast  slowly,  one  hour  or  until 
done,  and  serve  with  sauerkraut. 

(Continued  on  following  page) 
SEPTEMBER  1955 


it's  Easy  to 

Stack  Up 
Dollars  in  a 

BOOK 

MONEY 

BANK 

• 

CONVENIENT 

COMPACT 


The  Easy  Way—Save  A  Little  Every  Day 
Ask  Us  About  It 


zion's  savings  bank 
&  Trust  Company 


DAVID  O.  McKAY,  PRESIDENT, 


South  Temple  &  Main.  Salt  Lake  City 


Member  Federal  Deposit  Insurance  Corp. 


677 


THIS  WAY  YOU  NEVER  NEED  BE 
WITHOUT  HOMEMADE  JAM  OR  JELLY! 

THE  YEAR     ROUND 

recipes  you'll  find  in  every 
package  of  dependable 
M.C.P.  JAM  AND  JELLY 
PECTIN  (iVi-oz.)  make  it 
possible  for  you  to  make 
jam  or  jelly  whenever  you 
wish  —  with  fresh  fruits 
in  season,  and  with  frozen  berries  and  bottled 
juices  "out  of  season".  There  are  still  many 
fresh  fruits  available,  of  course  .  .  .  but  if 
you  "miss  out"  on  them  for  any  reason  .  .  . 
it's  nice  to  remember  that  you  and  your  family 
can  always  enjoy  the  extra  goodness  of  home- 
made jams  and  jellies  summer  and  winter,  so 
economically  and  easily  with  M.C.P.  PEC- 
TIN'S year  'round  recipes.  Keep  dependable 
M.C.P.  JAM  AND  JELLY  PECTIN  on  hand 
at  all  times.  You'll  be  glad  you  did  ! 


SCARCELY  ANY  OTHER  ONE  PRODUCT 
IS  SO  USEFUL ...  IN  SO  MANY  WAYS ! 

THERE'S   NO   DOUBT 

about  it  .  ,  .  there's  prac- 
tically daily  use  for  lemon 
juice  ...  in  one  or  more 
ways.  And  this  is  where  the 
convenience  and  economy 
of  M.C.P.  LEMON  JUICE 
fit  in  so  well.  M.C.P. 
LEMON  JUICE  is  always  ready  for  instant 
use  right  when  you  want  it,  without  any  fuss 
or  bother  —  in  salad  dressings  ;  in  dozens  of 
cooking  and  baking  recipes;  in  jam  and  jelly 
making ;  for  lemonade  and  other  cooling 
drinks;  as  a  daily  "tonic"  in  a  glass  of  water. 
M.C.P.  LEMON  JUICE  is  pure,  unadulter- 
ated, full-strength,  rich  in  Vitamin  C.  It's 
NOT  "reconstituted"  juice  .  .  .  contains  no 
preservatives  of  any  kind,  such  as  unwhole- 
some sulphur  dioxide  or  benzoate  of  soda. 
(Take  a  good  look  at  the  label  of  any  lemon 
juice  you  buy.)  .  .  .  And  if  you'd  like  a  FREE 
Recipe  Folder  on  lemon  juice,  just  write  the 
M.C.P.  Kitchen  Laboratory,  Anaheim,  Cali- 
fornia. (For  those  who  prefer  it,  there's 
M.C.P.  FROZEN  LEMON  JUICE,  too.  If  it's 
not  in  his  freezing  cabinet,  ask  your  grocer  to 
get  it  for  you.) 


GOOD  NEWS  FOR  THOSE  WHO  HAVE 
TO  COUNT  THEIR  CALORIES  ! 


THERE'S  A  NEW  TYPE 

of  pectin  .  .  ,  called 
M.C.P.  "LOW  SUGAR- 
PECTIN  .  .  .  that  now 
enables  you  to  make  fruit 
desserts,  jams  and  jellies, 
pie  and  tart  fillings,  cus- 
tards, etc.,  with  less,  little, 
or  no  sugar  at  all !  With  this  amazing  new 
pectin  .  .  .  developed  exclusively  by  M.C.P. 
.  .  .  you  can  now  make  delicious  recipes  that 
also  meet  the  rigid  sugar  and  starch  restric- 
tions of  diabetic  diets,  the  exacting  require- 
ments of  weight  control  diets,  or  simply  your 
taste  preference  for  things  "less  sweet  than 
usual"  .  .  .  and  make  them  the  year  'round, 
because  you  can  use  canned,  frozen,  bottled, 
or  fresh  fruits  and  juices.  M.C.P.  "LOW 
SUGAR"  PECTIN  is  not  yet  available  in 
stores  .  .  .  but  you  can  get  more  informa- 
tion about  it,  and  how  you  may  get  some  to 
try  .  .  .  by  writing  to  the  M.C.P.  Kitchen 
Laboratory,   Anaheim,    Calif.,    Dept.    I. 


KNOW  YOUR  IDS  COOKS 


(Continued  from  preceding  page) 
Coffee  Cake 

1  cup  flour 

1  teaspoon  baking  powder 
Y2  teaspoon  salt 

Y4  cup  sugar 

2  eggs 
milk 

J/4  cup  raisins 

!/4  cup  melted  butter 

Sift  together  all  dry  ingredients,  add 
beaten  eggs,  then  add  enough  milk  to 
make  a  dough  slightly  stirrer  than  pan- 
cake dough.  When  well  mixed,  add 
melted  butter  and  raisins  and  mix  again. 
Place  in  well-greased  bake  tin  so  that 
dough  is  about  V/2  inches  thick.  Top 
this  with  a  mixture  of  the  following: 

1  cup  powdered  sugar 
!/g  (scant)  teaspoon  salt 
l/2  square  butter 

1  teaspoon  cinnamon 

1  orange  rind,  grated 

1  lemon  rind,  grated 

Rub  together  powdered  sugar,  salt, 
and  butter  until  as  sand.  To  this  add 
cinnamon,  orange  and  lemon  rinds.  Mix 
well  and  crumble  over  coffee  cake.  This 
will  make  more  than  needed.  Use  as 
desired  and  place  the  remainder  in  a 
covered  container  in  refrigerator  until 
next  baking.  Bake  in  350°  F.  oven  until 
loose  from  sides  of  tin.  Do  not  let  it 
brown  too  quickly  and  do  not  touch  un- 
til done. 

FOR  WARD  DINNERS: 

Lemon  Pie  Filling 

(15  big  pies) 

20  egg  yolks 

32  lemons,  juice 

16  grated  lemon  rinds 

5  quarts  sugar 

4  quarts  sugar 
iy2  lb.  corn  starch 
y2  lb.  butter 

Juice  the  lemons,  grate  the  rinds,  and 
add  to  juice.  Let  juice  and  water  come 
to  a  good  boil  and  then  slowly  add  corn 
starch,  mixed  in  sufficient  ice  water  for 
a  smooth  mixture,  and  stir  constantly. 
When  this  mixture  is  cooked  just  to  the 
point  you  can  see  the  corn  starch,  add 
beaten  egg  yolks,  continuing  to  stir  con- 
stantly, and  let  the  mixture  come  to  a 
boil  in  an  ordinary  pan  without  a  lid. 
Remove  from  stove,  add  butter,  and 
beat  well.  Let  cool  and  then  pour  into 
pie  shells.     Let  stand  in  a  cold  place. 


678 


Meringue 

20  egg  whites 
1  quart  sugar 
1  level  teaspoon  salt 
1  teaspoon  vanilla 

Beat  egg  whites  until  stiff,  add  sugar, 
salt,  and  vanilla,  and  beat  well.  Spread 
on  top  of  cold  pies,  and  put  in  hot 
(400°  F.)  oven  just  until  brown. 

Pie  Crust 

5  lbs.  flour  (weigh  exactly) 
l!/4  lb.  ice  cold  shortening 
l]/4  lb.  ice  cold  lard 

1  rounded   teaspoon  salt 

Sift  flour  and  salt  together,  and  rub 
with  combined  shortening  and  lard  un- 
til like  sand.  It  must  be  in  tiny  grains, 
well-mixed,  for  good  crust,  and  the  com- 
bination of  lard  and  shortening  is 
recommended  because  shortening  alone 
makes  crust  dry.  Before  rolling  take 
just  enough  of  this  mixture  for  one  crust, 
sprinkle  with  just  enough  water  to  hold 
dough  toegther  sufficiently  to  roll,  mix, 
then  roll  out.  Lena  warns  not  to  have 
too  much  flour  on  bread  board  because 
it  will  make  the  crust  tough.  Bake 
crusts  in  a  250°  F.  oven. 

Lena's  instructions  for  baking  are  very 
specific  and  important.  Prick  the  pie 
shell  to  prevent  rising,  but  also  place 
within  the  crust  another  pie  tin  until 
shell  is  about  half-cooked.  Then  care- 
fully remove  the  inside  pie  tin  with  a 
knife,  return  the  crust  to  the  oven  for 
one  minute,  remove  again,  and  brush 
evenly  with  beaten  egg  white,  then 
finish  baking.  The  egg  white  will  keep 
the  crust  crisp  and  prevent  it  from 
getting  soggy.  Lena  also  advises  that 
the  pie  tins  should  be  placed  on  a  large 
bake  sheet  inside  the  oven  in  order  to 
accomplish  her  admonition,  "Never, 
never,  never  touch  the  pie  shell  until 
after  completely  baked." 

W/ith  all  of  her  fine  cooking,  Lena 
"  has  found  time  to  serve  four 
years  in  the  Primary,  fifteen  years  as 
a  Bee  Keeper  in  the  MIA,  three  years 
in  Relief  Society,  support  her  husband 
on  his  first  mission,  be  a  bishop's 
wife,  fill  a  mission  of  her  own  by  her 
husband's  side,  and  to  establish  her- 
self as  a  cook  in  demand  in  some  of 
the  leading  Salt  Lake  City  eating  es- 
tablishments. Aside  from  her  baby 
daughter  whom  she  lost  many  years 
ago,  her  children  are  the  missionaries 
she  mothered  in  East  Germany,  and 
she  is  proud  and  happy  with  her 
wonderful  "family." 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


One  of  her  greatest  joys  was  her 
work  in  the  Salt  Lake  Temple  when 
she  was  responsible  for  the  cafeteria, 
and  most  especially  when  she  pre- 
pared the  lunches  for  the  members  of 
the  First  Presidency  and  the  Coun- 
cil of  the  Twelve  each  Thursday.  It 
was  impossible  for  Lena  to  describe 
the  happiness  she  found  serving  these 
brethren;  only  by  trying  to  read  her 
eyes  and  the  expression  on  her  face 
could  one  in  any  way  understand 
what  was  in  her  heart.  "If  I  want 
to  be  as  close  to  the  Twelve  Apostles 
on  the  outside  as  well  as  on  the  in- 
side, I  must  live  that  way,"  and  with 
that  attitude  Lena  lives  her  life  in  a 
spirit  of  honesty,  earnestness,  and 
humility. 


YOUR  OLD  FORMAL  GOES 
LAMP  SHADE 

by  Evelyn  TVitter 

With    a    snap   of    elastic   you    can 
"    make    an    elegant    lamp    shade 
from  the  one  you  thought  you  would 
have  to  throw  away! 

To  cover  the  worn  shade,  all  the 
material  you  need  is  your  old  formal 
or  dinner  dress  (the  one  with  the 
full  skirt),  and  four  or  five  yards 
of  elastic. 

Your  first  step  is  to  cut  off  the  hem 
of  your  formal.  This  strip  should 
be  about  six  inches  wide.  One  side, 
of  course,  is  already  hemmed,  which 
makes  the  sewing  job  much  simpler 
than  it  looks. 

First,  measure  the  lamp  shade  at 
the  bottom.  Double  this  measure- 
ment; cut  off  a  piece  of  material  this 
length. 

Make  a  fourth-inch  hem  on  the 
cut  side  of  the  strip.  Pull  elastic 
through  it.  Join  the  ends  and  your 
first  snap-on  ruffle  is  done. 

Next  measure  the  top  of  the  lamp 
shade  and  repeat  the  same  procedure 
as  in  making  the  bottom  ruffle.  This 
time  you  will  have  to  hem  both  edges. 

Then  decide  whether  you  want  one 
more  ruffle  next  to  the  bottom  one 
or  if  three  more  would  look  better. 
The  number  of  ruffles  needed  can 
be  determined  by  the  size  of  the 
shade,  the  weight  of  the  material, 
and  the  type  of  room  where  it  is  to 
be  used. 

Now  snap  all  your  ruffles  in  place. 
And  there   is  your   old  formal   gone 
elegant  again. 
SEPTEMBER  1955 


PUTTING  THE 
YOU  in  DO 


The  three  words  that  spell  magic  for 
modern  living  in  any  home  are  these: 
Do  It  Yourself.  And  in  the  Inter- 
mountain  "West,  everybody's  guide 
for  better  Do-It-Yourself  living  is 
HOME  Magazine,  The  Salt  Lake  Tri- 
bune's exclusive  Sunday  supplement. 
Father  finds  patterns  and  plans  .  .  . 
Mother  learns  new  sewing  and  home 
decorating  .  .  .  Sister  and  Brother 
learn  hobbies  and  crafts  in  HOME 
every  Sunday.  Better  life  and  better 
living  starts  in  the  home,  and  HOME 
is  the  Magazine  that  reaches  the  heart 
of  the  home.  HOME  is  another  facet 
of  The  Salt  Lake  Tribune's  proud  role 
as 

The  Tie  That  Binds  the 
Inter  mountain   West 

Slj£  §>alt  ffiak?  Sribtm? 

One  of  America's  Great   Newspapers 


KOLOB  COVERS 
THE  WEST 

Throughout  four  mountain  states 
more  than  300  KOLOB  AGENTS 
stand  ready  to  serve  you,  whatever 
your  protection  problems  may  be. 
Prompt  settlement  of  claims  and 
strong  stock-company  policies  have 
made  KOLOB  SERVICE  acclaimed 
by  thousands.  See  your  local 
KOLOB  AGENT  .  .  .  he's  a  special- 
ist in   protection. 


A  GENERAL  INSURANCE  AGENCY 


FRANK  SALISBURY,  MGR. 
330  Judge  Bldg.  Salt  Lake  City 


GRIND  YOUR  OWN 
FLOUR  &  CEREAL 

with  this  sturdy 

WHEAT  MILL 

ONLY 

$650 

POSTPAID 

ANYWHERE 

IN 

AMERICA 


Mill  cracks  or  grinds  wheat,  corn  and  all 
kinds  of  hard  or  soft  grains.  Grinds  1% 
pounds  of  flour  or  cereal  per  minute. 
.  .  .  Fully  guaranteed  by  Pehrson's. 

SPECIAL  PRICES  TO   L.D.S.  GROUPS 


Please  send  me  one  Wheat  Mil 
$6.50  (check  or  money  order.) 

Name     

Address    

City    

State    


Inclosed   is 


PEHRSON  HARDWARE 

2102  SOUTH  11th  EAST   •   SALT  LAKE  CITY,  UTAH 


679 


like  Money 
in  the  Bank ! 


*  Yes,  like  money  in  the  bank,  home- 
canned  foods — in  gleaming  Ball  Jars, 
sealed  with  Ball  Dome  Lids — are 
always  ready  for  use  when  needed. 

And  they  taste  better  because  they 
are  seasoned  just  the  way  your  family 
likes  them. 

Home  canning  actually  saves  you 
money — helps  stretch  food  dollars.  For 
instance,  here's  something  your  family 
will  love,  yet  it's  made  from  the  pulp 
left  in  the  bag  after  dripping  the  juice 
for  grape  jelly  .  .  . 

Spiced  Grape  Catsup\  -^ 

5  cups  concord-type  grape  pulp  (put         \ 
through  a  sieve  or  food  mill)  j 

2/3  cup  cider  vinegar       1  tsp.  ground  allspice 
«/2  ?spP  ground  cloves      3cupsa^r 
1  tso  ground  cinnamon   Vz  tsp.  salt  1 

ssssssgg 

Ral  Jars  Seal  at  once  with  Ball  Dome  Lids  the 
M    with  the  cream-white  enamel  lining  that 
gSards  flavor  best.  Serve  with  ham,  pork,  poui- 
i-  try  or  on  bread. 

HOME-CANNING    RECIPE    BOOK 

Over  300  recipes,  64  pages,  complete 
step-by-step  instructions  for  home  can- 
ning and  freezing.  Beautifully  illus- 
trated in  full  color.  Send  25^  to  Ball 
Brothers  Co.,  Dept.  E95  Box  388,  El 
Monte,  California. 

HOME  CANNERS 
BUY  MORE 


THAN  ANY 
OTHER   BRAND! 


THAT  ENTHUSIASTIC  BEGINNING! 


By  Florence  J.  JoJmson 


As  I  prepared  dinner,  I  was  mental- 
ly compiling  my  shopping  list  for 
L  tomorrow.  The  usual,  of  course, 
plus  the  balls  of  crochet  thread.  It 
was  an  easy  crochet  pattern.  If  I 
made  a  square  a  day,  I  would  have  it 
finished  in  time  for  the  big  fall  party. 
The  lace  tablecloth  would  make  a 
perfect  background  for  our  new  china. 
Some  days  I  might  even  do  two 
squares.  The  pattern  was  very  sim- 
ple. 

"Say,  Mom,"  Judy  came  in,  drop- 
ping her  armful  of  books  on  the  hall 
table,  "may  I  have  an  advance  on  my 
allowance?  Sue  Martin  is  knitting 
the  sharpest  pattern  in  Argyles.  If 
I  knit  two  pairs,  it  will  take  care  of 
Christmas  presents  for  Frank  and 
Chris." 

As  I  looked  at  my  enthusiastic 
daughter,  I  was  reminded  of  some- 
thing. "We'll  see.  Wash  your  hands 
and  slip  on  an  apron.  You  are  mak- 
ing tonight's  dessert,  remember?" 

"I  forgot!"  Judy  stammered.  "I  got 
so  interested  in  Sue's  Argyle  pattern! 
I  planned  to  make  that  delicious  des- 
sert I  had  over  at  Nelsons',  but  it  has 
to  have  time  to  set.  It's  too  late  for 
that  now.  Oh,  dear!  What  shall  I 
fix?" 

"Think  of  something.  I  didn't  take 
time  to  prepare  anything,  you  were 
so  enthusiastic  over  fixing  the  dessert. 
And  don't  make  tapioca  pudding,"  I 
warned.  "We've  had  that  three 
nights  straight.  You  heard  your 
father  last  night.  Tapioca  tonight, 
and  he'll  start  eating  downtown!" 

Judy  pouted  as  she  put  the  box  of 
tapioca  back  on  the  shelf  and  started 
leafing  through  a  cookbook. 

I  was  rather  quiet  that  evening, 
thinking  about  these  flash-in-the-pan 
enthusiasms  of  the  family. 

The  next  day  I  went  through  the 
house,  poking  into  dresser  drawers 
and  odd  corners.  To  say  I  was  dis- 
mayed at  my  discoveries  is  putting  it 
mildly. 

After  dinner  that  evening,  I  in- 
vited the  family  to  come  into  the 
basement  to  view  an  exhibit  and, 
leading  the  curious  family  to  a  table, 
I  took  off  the  sheet.  I  pointed  silent- 
ly to  an  array  of  articles. 

"Why,    there    is    the    sweater    I 


680 


started  last  winter,  and  the  oil  paint- 
ing I  was  going  to  enter  in  that  con- 
test! I —  I—"  Judy  came  to  a  stam- 
mering halt. 

"My  clipper  ship,  half  finished, 
and  the  leather  billfold  I  started  in 
craft  class,  and — "  Dan  picked  up  a 
charcoal  sketch.  It  showed  promise. 
His  instructor  had  suggested  that  he 
enter  it  in  a  national  contest.  The 
contest  had  closed  months  ago.  The 
winning  sketch  was  good,  and  it  was 
finished.  Dan's  was  good — but  un- 
finished! 

My  husband  eyed  the  array.  There 
were  several  sheets  of  unfinished 
music.  He  had  worked  out  the  words 
and  music  of  a  song  one  day,  and  we 
had  all  liked  it.  He  meant  to  try  his 
luck  with  it  at  a  radio  station,  but — 
The  blueprints  were  of  the  house  we 
planned  to  build  on  our  acreage. 
There  were  some  special  ideas  he 
wanted  to  incorporate  in  the  plans. 

"We  surelv  start  out  with  a  bang;, 
don't  we?"  Dan  said  slowly.  "Then 
we  fall  flat  on  our  face.  Hey,  Dad, 
where  are  you  going?" 

"I,"  his  father  paused  at  the  foot 
of  the  stairs,  "am  going  to  phone  Bob 
Stacy  at  the  radio  station." 

Judy  picked  up  the  unfinished 
sweater.  "To  think  I  spent  part  of 
next  week's  allowance  for  yarn.  It 
will  be  Christmas  before  I  get  to  start 
those  Argyles,"  she  pouted. 

Dan  was  studying  his  charcoal 
sketch  appraisingly.  When  he  turned, 
I  was  gathering  up  a  pair  of  stamped 
pillowcases.  I  had  done  all  the 
French  knots,  and  then,  well — there 
they  were!  There  were  other  items 
that  I  had  begun  with  enthusiasm 
and  dropped  with  alacrity. 

"Ah!"  Dan  grinned.  "I  wondered 
if  you  would  confess  to  the  same 
weakness  that  plagues  your  loved 
ones!  What's  this?"  He  picked  up  a 
neatly  knit  circle. 

"That  is  the  crown  of  the  cap  I 
started  to  knit  for  Jenny  Frye's  baby," 
I  told  him. 

Judy  giggled.  "Jenny  Frye's  baby 
starts  kindergarten  this  fall." 

It  took  us  quite  a  while  to  finish 
that  array  of  articles  on  the  basement 
table.  The  family  agreed  that  noth- 
ing was  to  be  put  away  unfinished 
THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


and  that  nothing  new  was  to  be 
started  until  that  table  was  clear. 

Not  until  we  saw  the  display  of 
completed  articles  did  we  realize  how 
many  things  we  had  started  with 
great  enthusiasm  and  then  forgotten! 

What  have  we  accomplished  by 
now? 

Dan's  leather  billfold  is  a  contest 
entry  in  his  craft  class;  hubby's  song 
has  been  sung  over  the  local  radio  sta- 
tion, and  he  has  been  invited  to  sub- 
mit another;  the  house  plans  are  being 
studied  by  an  architect  friend;  today 
Judy  started  her  first  pair  of  Argyle 
socks;  and  I  went  shopping  for  crochet 
thread.  A  square  a  day?  No,  I  won't 
promise  that,  but  the  lace  tablecloth 
will  be  finished  before  I  start  some- 
thing else. 

We  now  have  a  family  motto — 

We  begin  with  enthusiasm,  and  we 
finish  in  earnest! 


We're  Going  to  a  Hukilau 

(Continued  from  page  641) 
Lake  City.  You  could  well  under- 
stand why  the  people  of  Laie  wept 
openly  when  the  dedicatory  prayer 
was  pronounced  by  President  George 
Albert  Smith,  then  President  of  the 
Church.  A  community  triumph  had 
finally  come  to  pass.  Immediately 
after  the  services  were  over,  the  com- 
munity of  Laie  served  as  host  to  the 
hundreds  in  attendance  at  a  luau 
(feast)  on  the  hukilau  grounds.  In 
the  preparation  of  the  food  for  this 
gigantic  luau,  the  men  roasted  sixteen 
hogs  in  an  underground  stove  (imu), 
and  the  women  cooked  several  hun- 
dred chickens,  while  the  young  folk 
attended  to  the  decoration  of  the  din- 
ing rooms  with  beautiful  fragrant 
island  flowers,  and  serenaded  their 
guests  with  their  music. 

Today,  the  community  of  Laie  is 
divided  into  two  wards,  and  is  still 
expanding  through  the  recent  arrival 
of  immigrants  from  Samoa,  who  have 
come  to  Laie  to  make  their  homes  in 
order  to  be  close  to  the  temple.  The 
hukilau  is  still  held  once  every  month 
and  the  profits  deposited  into  a  fund 
for  the  building  of  a  gymnasium  for 
the  young  people.  Laie  presently  has 
twenty-one  of  her  young  people  at- 
tending colleges  in  the  United  States. 
Six  already  have  bachelor's  degrees, 
two  have  master's  degrees,  two  are 
school  principals,  and  two  are  pro- 
fessional  wrestlers    presently    in    the 

(Concluded  on  following  page) 
SEPTEMBER  1955 


Has  been  winning  cooking  contests  for  25  years 


Utah  Cook  Wins  Sweepstakes  Award 


Mrs.  Howard  Stringham  not  only 
has  100  prize  ribbons  to  show  off,  but 
2  prize  trophies  as  well.  And  she  won 
them  all  in  cooking  competition! 
Last  fall  alone  Mrs.  Stringham  took 
a  total  of  26  prizes  and  a  Sweepstakes 
award — at  the  State  Fair  and  the 
Davis  County  Fair. 

Mrs.  Stringham  of  Bountiful,  Utah, 
is  another  prize-winning  cook  who 
always  uses  Fleischmann's  Active  Dry 
Yeast.  "I  just  wouldn't  buy  any  other 
kind,"  she  says.  "Fleischmann's  is  so 
dependable— rises  fast  every  time." 


If  you  bake  at  home  you'll  find  it's 
convenient  to  serve  yeast-raised  spe- 
cialties if  you  have  Fleischmann's 
Active  Dry  Yeast  in  your  cupboard. 
That's  the  handy  dry  yeast  that 
comes  in  the  "Thrifty  Three"  pack- 
age— and  it  keeps  for  months.  This 
dry  yeast  is  so  easy  to  use,  always 
rises  fast.  Get  Fleischmann's  Active 
Dry  Yeast — the  very  best. 


Gef  the  New 
"Thrifty  Three" 


Defies   Costly   Moisture    Damage 

Thompson's  Water  Seal's  deep  penetrat- 
ing protection  seals  pores  of  all  porous 
materials — brick,  concrete,  stucco,  wood, 
canvas,  etc.  (indoors;  outdoors).  Helps 
eliminate  mildew,  moisture  damage,  weath- 
er stain.  Transparent,  no  residue  or  dis- 
coloration. Use  brush,  spray,  mop  or 
roller.  Gal.  covers  up  to  400  sq.  ft.  At 
paint,  hardware,  building  supply  stores,  or 
direct.  Qt.  $1.55;  Gal.  $4.78  ppd.  No 
C.O.D.'s.  E.  A.  Thompson  Co.,  Inc.  West- 
ern Merchandise  Mart.  San  Francisco  3, 
California. 


DRINK 


fic<3° 


A  delightful 

hot  beverage  for  those 

who  don't  drink  coffee. 


AT        YOUR        GROCERS 


GOSPEL  IDEALS 

By  President  David  O.  McKay 


At  all  bookstores 


$4.00 


Enjoy 

finer  flavor 
and  greater 
nutrition  of 
whole  wheat 
grain  .  .  . 

freshly  ground! 


ever-increasing 
in  popularity 

Everyone  knows  that 
bread  and  other  cereal 
foods  made  with  whole 
grain  freshly  ground 
is  far  tastier  and  richer 
in  health-giving  nutri- 
ments. And  —  it's  the 
wise  home  where  some- 
thing is  done  about  it. 

Rapid  —  efficient,  the 
Lee  Household  Electric 
Flour  Mill  reduces  whole 
grain  to  fluffy  flour  for 
a  fraction  of  o  penny 
a  pound.  Best  of  all, 
it's  STONE  GROUND— 


every  food  element  is 
retainedl  WR/T£  TO- 
DAY for  prices— FREE 
recipes — food  facfil 

SPECIAL 
OFFER  — FLOUR 

Send  coupon  for  intro- 
ductory offer  of  5-lb. 
pkg..  Deaf  Smith  wheat 
flour,  America's  rich- 
est in  food  elements, 
or  select  Wis. -Minn., 
wheat  flour  —  stone 
ground  the  day  it's 
shipped. 

LEE  ENGINEERING  CO. 

Milwaukee  3,  Wis. 


LEE  ENGINEERING  COMPANY,  Depl.,    I.E. 
2023  W.  Wisconsin  Ave.,  Milwaukee  3,  Wis. 

□  DEAF  SMITH   FLOUR,   5-lb.   pkg.   Postpaid.   Only  $1.50 

□  WIS. -MINN.  FLOUR,  5-  lb.  pkg.  Postpaid.  Only  $1.00 


Name 
Street 
City  ... 


.State 


681 


ydC9li0nin(|7    Whether  you're  bound  for 

Canada,  California,  Carolina  or 
Connecticut,  here's  a 
tip  to  help  you  enjoy  your 
trip  even  more: 

Use  Long  Distance    •  To  keep  in  touch  with  family 

and  friends  back  home. 


•  To  call  ahead  for  reservations. 
Mountain  States  Telephone 


i v- 


Samsonite 

folding  chairs  are 
strongest... last  longest! 

Samsonite  folding  furniture  is 
smart,  sturdy,  wonderfully  com- 
fortable. It  lasts  longest,  saves 
money  over  the  years!  Most  group- 
seating  experts  insist  on  Samsonite! 


Shwayder  Bros.  Public  Sealing  Division, 
Dept.  17,  Detroit  29,  Michigan 
Send  Information  (j  Have  Representative  Call  □ 


L 


Name 

Organization^ 

Address 

City 


_Zone_ 


^State_ 


Also  Makers  of  Samsonite  luggage.  Card  Tables  and  Chairs 


1       HEADQUARTERS  FOR  L.D.S.      f 
A         IN  LAS  VEGAS,  NEVADA         k 

YE  KINGS  REST  MOTEL 

526  SOUTH  5TH  STREET 

Dr.  Harold  B.  Foutz,  Owner 

Edgar  H.  Foutz,  Manager 

Beautyrest  Mattresses  Throughout 


monJuoe 

.  FOLDING 

BANQUET 

TABLES 


Direct  Price 
Discounts  tc 
Churches,  S< 
and  all  Insti 


MONROE  TRUCKS 


For  storing  Folding  Tables  and  Chairs 
the  easy,  modern  way  Each  truck 
handles  either  tables  or  chairs.  Construe 
tion  of  Truck  No.  TSC  permits  storaga 
in  limited  space. 


Transport  Storage 
Truck  No.  TS 

Church  Units  may  direct  their  inquiries  to  the 
Church  Purchasing  Department,  47  East 
South  Temple,   Salt  Lake  City  1,  Utah. 


THE    IllotVlO^    COMPANY 


249CHURCH    STREET.    COLFAX.    IOWA 

GIVE  A  NEW  LOOK  TO 
OLD  FLOORS! 


INDIAN  SAND  TREWAX,  colored  to  restore  natural 
brilliance  to  worn  hardwood  floors  and  worn  cork, 
eliminates  resanding  and  refinishing  hardwood,  re- 
moves marks  and  discoloration;,  assures  long- 
lasting  lustre,  protection.  50%  solid  carnauba, 
INDIAN  SAND  TREWAX  is  the  world's  hardest  floor 
wax,  makes  lifetime  users  of  first-time  customers! 
Available  only  at  paint,  hardware,  floor  covering, 
linoleum  or  department  stores,  or  direct,  1.99  per 
lb.  plus  tax,  ppd.  C.O.D.'s  plus  postage.  TREWAX 
CO.,  5631  Centinela  Ave.,  Culver  City,  California. 
Dealer  inquiries    invited. 


We're  Going  to  a  Milau 

(Concluded  from  preceding  page) 
United  States.  In  a  matter  of  weeks, 
Laie  will  become  the  site  of  a  junior 
college  for  the  members  and  non- 
members  of  the  Church  in  Hawaii. 
What  better  tribute  could  be  paid 
this  worthy  community! 

Laie  has  indeed  taken  her  place 
among  our  better  communities.  Small 
as  she  is,  she  is  showing  the  rest  of 
Hawaii  and  the  world  that  there  is 
strength  in  working  harmoniously  to- 
wards a  common  goal,  and  in  giving 
force  to  the  words  "unity,  love,  and 
brotherhood." 

Yes,  we're  going  to  a  hukilau,  won't 
you  join  us? 


682 


Qualifications  for  leaders 

(Continued  from  page  629) 
charity,  humility,  and  diligence,  and 
I  especially  like  the  latter  two. 

"Humility,  that  low,  sweet  root, 
from  which  all  heavenly  virtues 
shoot!"  (Thomas  Moore.)  True  hu- 
mility is  not  an  abject,  groveling, 
self-despising  spirit;  it  is  but  a  right 
estimate  of  ourselves  as  God  sees  us. 
It  is  easy  to  look  down  on  others;  to 
look  down  on  ourselves  is  the  diffi- 
culty. They  that  know  God  will  be 
humble.  They  that  know  themselves 
cannot  be  proud.  Heaven's  gates  are 
not  so  highly  arched  as  prince's  pal- 
aces. They  that  enter  there  must  go 
upon  their  knees. 

It  is  no  great  thing  to  be  humble 
when  we  are  brought  low,  but  to  be 
humble  when  we  are  praised  is  a 
great  and  rare  attainment.  "If  thou 
wouldest  find  much  favor  and  peace 
with  God  and  man,  be  very  low  in 
thine  own  eyes,  forgive  thyself  little, 
and  others  much."  Nothing  sets  a 
person  so  much  out  of  the  devil's 
reach  as  humility.  True  humility 
makes  way  for  Christ  and  throws  the 
soul  at  his  feet. 

Yes,  we  all  have  the  right  to  enjoy 
this  characteristic  of  humility,  and 
you  recognize  that  the  Lord  gives 
this  next  to  the  last  qualification, 
after  all  the  other  virtues  and  char- 
acteristics, he  names  humility  and 
then  the  last,  diligence. 

What  we  hope  ever  to  do  with  ease 
we  must  learn  first  to  do  with  dili- 
gence. The  expectations  of  life  de- 
pend upon  diligence.  The  mechanic 
who  would  perfect  his  work  must 
first  sharpen  his  tools.  "Work  while 
THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


it  is  called  today,  for  you  know  not 
how  much  you  may  be  hindered  to- 
morrow. One  today  is  worth  two 
tomorrows.  Never  leave  that  till  to- 
morrow which  you  can  do  today."  We 
cannot  live  on  past  records.  Today 
is  the  important  day  in  our  lives. 

In  all  departments  of  activity,  to 
have  one  thing  to  do  and  then  to  do 
it  is  the  secret  of  success.  He  who 
labors  diligently  need  never  despair, 
for  all  things  are  accomplished  by 
diligence  and  labor. 

The  great  charge  is  ours  to  go 
forth,  fortifying  ourselves  with  these 
characteristics  as  true  leaders,  that  we 
might  be  able  to  feed  the  bread  of 
life  to  the  youth  of  the  Church. 


Spiritualized  Scouting 

(Continued  from  page  643) 

wholesome  influence.  It  brings  asso- 
ciation with  decent  men  and  activi- 
ties that  build  and  save  boys  and  men. 

Oscar  Benson,  a  Scout  advocate  of 
a  former  generation,  made  it  a  hobby 
to  interview  men  in  death  row,  men 
about  to  give  their  lives  for  their 
crimes.  He  summed  up  the  inter- 
views that  he  had  with  some  125  of 
them  by  saying,  "Not  a  single  one 
of  them  would  admit  that  he  had 
ever  known  a  decent  man." 

I  think  that  scouting  must  have  as 
one  of  its  prime  objectives,  the  pro- 
viding of  a  decent  man,  or  men,  for 
these  boys,  a  man  that  can  take  the 
time  to  counsel  them  at  the  cross- 
roads of  life  as  to  whether  they  shall 
take  the  easy  wrong  road  or  the  hard 
right  turn  that  will  determine  their 
whole  future.  If  we  can  do  no  more 
than  that,  we  will  have  served  a  noble 
purpose  and  will  have  made  worth- 
while all  the  effort  that  goes  into  the 
program. 

We  refer  to  this  adolescent  age  as 
an  "unhappy  age."  As  I  deal  with 
young  people  I  am  convinced  that  we 
could  say  it  is  "an  intensely  anxious 
age."  You  can't  put  it  aside  by  say- 
ing they  have  a  "what  the  heck?" 
attitude  or  an  "I  don't  care"  attitude. 
As  I  visit  with  them  and  work  with 
them,  I  tell  you  that  they  care  in- 
tensely, and  if  scouting  is  presented 
to  them  in  a  challenging  way,  they 
will  accept  it. 

Men  result  from  boys,  just  as  the 
body  is  a  result  of  food,  and  the  mind 
is  a  result  of  thought,  character  is  a 
result  of  building.    There  is  no  argu- 

(Concluded  on  following  page) 
SEPTEMBER  1955 


HAMMOND  ORGAN 

World's  lowest-cost  complete  church  organ.    A  marvel 

of  power  and  versatility,  tremendous  range  of  TRUE 

CHURCH   TONES. 

The  Concert  Model  Organ,  with 
sufficient  tone  equipment,  can 
be  installed  in  the  church  at  a 
cost  considerably  under  that  of 
any  comparable  instrument.  Be- 
fore purchasing  any  organ,  be- 
come fully  acquainted  with  the 
many  advantages  the  Hammond 
offers. 

A  HAMMOND   purchase  assures  freedom  from   maintenance 

worries. 

TRUE  TO   PITCH,   NEVER   NEEDS  TUNING. 

Get  Full  Information  From 


GLEN  BROS.  MUSIC  CO. 


OGDEN 


SALT   LAKE  CITY 
74  So.  Main 


PROVO 


1956 

World  Cruise 

in  the  famous 
"CARONIA" 

Follow  the  seasons  around  the 
world  in  108  wonder-filled  days. 
It's  your  own  grand  tour  from 
Rio  to  Bombay,  Bali,  Singapore, 
the  Orient.  Superb  Cunard,  cui- 
sine, and  service.  Call  now  for 
complete  information  on  this 
fabulous  tour. 

23  ports  108  thrilling 

17  countries  days 

$2,975  up 

A 


UNIVERSAL 


•Urauel   ^e 


Hotel  Temple  Square 

Salt  Lake  City 

5-6552  -  5-5924 


ervice 


Hotel  Ben  Lomond 

Ogden,  Utah 

4-2667 


DON'T  MISS  THIS' 

Many  are  glad  they  wrote  for  our  OFFER.  You  too, 
if  qualified,  can  make  $6,000.00  to  $8,000.00  your 
first  year.  Enjoy  good  lifetime  career,  bigger  in- 
come, future  security.  Preference  given  those  seek- 
ing work  with  Christian  emphasis.  Also  part  time. 
Write  today.  State  experience  and  full  particu- 
lars.    "Opportunity    Plus"    Booklet    FREE. 

JOHN  RUDIN  &  COMPANY    INC. 

1018    S.    Wabash  Dept.    C-42         Chicago    5,    111. 


— > — — — — 


Eli™  'L 


Li-..*.v. 


For  everything 
in  fine  Church  Furniture 

It  will  pay  you  to  consider 
American  Seating  Company  prod- 
ucts when  you  reseat,  remodel,  or 
build.  Bodiform  pews,  chancel 
furniture,  and  architectural  wood- 
work by  American  Seating  Com- 
pany craftsmen  assure  liturgical 
correctness  and  long  service.  Write 
for  information  desired. 

Department   1169 

&/metica/i  jeafi/y  Company 

World's  Leader  in  Public  Seating 
901  Broadway  N.  W.,  Grand  Rapids  2,  Mich. 


CHANGE  OF  HEART 

Another  great  film  by  the  au- 
thors of  "San  Juan  Outpost" 
and  the  producers  of  "OLIVER 
COWDERY,"  and  "THE  CHOICE 
LAND." 

All      of     these     films     are     high-quality 
16mm    color   sound    films    which    are: 
•    Educational      •    Entertaining 
•   Testimony  Building 

Rasonable  rental Also  hundreds 

of  other  films  to  choose  from 
For  full  information,  write  or  call 

HILLAM'S 

54   Post  Office  Place      Salt  Lake  City,   Utah 
Phone  3-5417 


683 


Why  Share  Your  Space 
with  a  Swinging   Door? 


a  "MODERNFOLD" 
door  takes   none 

•  MORE  SPACE   FOR  LIVING 

•  NEW  COLORFUL  BEAUTY 

•  RIGID  -  STRENGTH  OF  STEEL 

•  MOVABLE  WALLS 

the  doors  that  fold 
like  an  accordion 


For  demonstration  write  or  phone 

ALDERS 

1343  South  Main  Salt  Lake  City 

Phone  7-1531 

Please    send    me    your    free    booklet    entitled 
"More  Space  for  Living"  IE-10. 


NAME. ... 
Address. 
City 


.State.. 


<— 


national 

CompacType 
BIBLES 


BELOVED  KING 
JAMES  VERSION 


NOW!  —  for  the  first  time,  you  can 
choose  from  three  handsome  Bibles  by 
NATIONAL,  specifically  designed  for 
group  awards  or  for  individual  presenta- 
tions !  All  are  exceptionally  thin — less 
than  l" — in  convenient  5"  x  lW  size. 
All  are  printed  in  clear-cut  CompacType 
on  white  Bible  paper,  and  attractively 
priced  at  $1.95,  $2.75,  and  $4.50. 


national 


(ZilllVIIUI    BIBLES 

AT  LEADING  BIBLE  STORES 


SPIRITUALIZED  SCOUTING 


(Concluded  from  preceding  page) 
ment;  it  has  been  amply  demon- 
strated that  all  boys  will  respond  to 
leadership  if  it  comes  soon  enough 
and  if  it  is  good  enough.  "As  the 
twig  is  bent,  so  the  tree  is  inclined." 
Today's  great  need  is  for  better 
leaders — dedicated,  devoted  leaders— 
not  the  kind  who  grudgingly  parcel 
out  a  few  minutes  of  their  time  like 
a  miser  counting  out  pennies,  but 
leaders  who  can  and  will  give  gener- 
ously of  their  time  to  boys.  I  mean 
leaders  who  can  talk  to  them  and 
inspire  them  and  fire  them  with  the 
flames  of  ambition. 


How  much  is  a  boy  worth?  I 
come  back  to  that.  A  plain  bar  of 
iron  is  worth  $2.50.  The  same  bar 
made  into  horseshoes  is  worth  $10.50, 
if  made  into  needles  it  is  worth 
$3,285.00;  and  if  turned  into  balance 
springs  for  watches  it  is  worth  $250,- 
000.00 — one  quarter  of  a  million  dol- 
lars. In  each  of  these  cases  the  mate- 
rial is  the  same;  the  difference  lies  in 
what  is  done  with  the  material. 

Whether  a  boy  turns  into  a  worthy 
citizen  or  a  delinquent — will  often 
depend  on  the  program  he  is  subjected 
to  and  the  leadership  he  receives 
during  his  early  formative  years. 


A  TEMPLE  IS  RISEN  TO  OUR  LORD 


(Continued  from  page  626) 
for  this  sacred  ceremony,  and  official- 
ly and  reverently  we  this  day  lay 
the  cornerstone  of  the  temple  to  sig- 
nify deep  gratitude  for  that  which 
has  been  accomplished  and  our  firm 
resolution,  with  thy  divine  aid,  to 
complete  this  noble  structure,  and  as 
thy  servants,  holding  the  Holy  Priest- 
hood, we  devote,  consecrate,  and  dedi- 
cate this  cornerstone  with  all  that  it 
represents  and  typifies,  and  these 
ceremonies  unto  thee,  as  an  offering 
from  thy  grateful  people. 

"We  pray  to  thee  to  accept  this 
offering  and  in  thy  providence  to 
bring  about  the  completion  of  this 
holy  temple.  As  thou  hast  done  in 
the  past,  continue  to  pour  out  thy 
blessings  upon  those  who  labor  and 
contribute  to  the  consummation  of 
this  work.*  *  * 

"And  now,  our  Father,  we  offer  a 
special  prayer  unto  thee  that  during 
the  course  of  construction  and  there- 
after this  holy  temple  erected  to  thy 
name  may  constitute  a  great  and 
powerful  missionary  force  in  the 
spreading  of  the  gospel  of  our  Lord 
among  the  children  of  men.  Stand- 
ing amid  the  lofty  mountains  of  this 
traditional  land  of  freedom,  may  it  be 
accounted  as  a  monument  to  liberty, 
freedom  to  worship,  freedom  to  speak, 
freedom  to  assemble,  and  freedom  of 
conscience.  And  may  it  be  an  oracle 
in  the  proclamation  of  the  divine  prin- 
ciples which  underlie  these  precious 
freedoms. 

"Grant,  O  Lord,  that  those  who 
come  here,  or  who  are  otherwise  at- 
tracted to  this  project,  may  be  suscept- 
ible to  the  vital  and  transcend?ntly 
beautiful   principles   of  life   given   to 


684 


the  world  in  the  restored  gospel  of 
our  Lord  and  Savior.  May  they 
yield  themselves  without  prejudice  to 
the  impressions  of  thy  holy  Spirit, 
and  in  humility  come  to  an  under- 
standing of  man,  thy  Son,  his  begin- 
ning, his  probation  in  mortality,  and 
his  eternal  destiny.  And  may  those 
who  minister  here,  representing  thee 
and  thy  work,  be  inspired  in  the 
presentation  of  these  divine  princi- 
ples with  clarity  and  the  conviction 
of  testimony.*   *  * 

"These  high  purposes  for  this  noble 
structure,  we  lay  before  thee,  our 
Father.  If  it  be  thy  will,  may  they 
come  to  pass,  we  humbly  pray,  in 
the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord. 
Amen." 

The  steel  point  of  the  tower  was 
placed  in  January  1955.  The  work 
of  the  interior  progressed  until  by 
the  end  of  May  the  plastering  on  the 
interior  had  been  completed,  the 
acoustical  ceilings  installed,  and  the 
washing  rooms  were  being  tiled.  In 
January  1955  the  plaster  casts  of  the 
oxen  for  the  baptismal  font  were 
shipped  to  Switzerland,  arriving  in 
March,  and  being  turned  to  the 
foundry  in  Mendrisio,  Switzerland, 
there  to  be  cast  in  bronze.  The  Utah 
artist,  Millard  F.  Malin,  was  director 
in  charge  of  the  making  of  the  plaster 
casts  of  the  oxen.  He  had  as  his  as- 
sistants Morris  Brooks  and,  Carl 
Quilter  at  first,  and  later  Torlief 
Knaphus. 

The  shipping  of  the  plaster  casts 
was  a  worrisome  one  for  Director 
Malin.  He,  however,  used  manila 
hemp  fiber  with  the  plaster  for  cast- 
ing, and  he  said  that  this  made  "the 
THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


casts  ten  times  stronger  than  the 
ordinary  plaster." 

The  landscaping  was  completed  by 
June  1955,  with  shrubs  and  trees 
planted,  and  the  lawns  seeded,  to 
make  all  a  bower  of  beauty  by  the 
time  of  the  dedication  in  September. 

The  testimonies  which  have  grown 
out  of  the  erection  of  this  new  tem- 
ple have  been  many  and  varied. 
President  and  Sister  Bringhurst  bear 
their  testimony  to  the  power  of  the 
Lord  and  his  assistance  in  the  selec- 
tion of  the  temple  site.  Brother  Ed- 
ward O.  Anderson  also  bore  testimony 
to  the  continued  direction  of  our 
Lord  and  Savior.  He  had  gone  to 
Zurich,  Switzerland,  in  December 
1954  to  the  offices  of  the  General 
Electric  Company  there,  relative  to 
obtaining  their  advice  concerning  the 
installation  of  electric  lighting  in  the 
temple.  He  wanted  to  know  the 
latest  developments  in  electricity  in 
Switzerland,  in  order  to  make  the 
lighting  at  the  temple  the  most  effec- 
tive and  up-to-date  available. 

During  the  course  of  the  conversa- 
tion, Brother  Anderson  was  shown  a 
picture  of  the  inside  of  a  building 
which  had  been  photographed  to  il- 
lustrate how  effective  the  lighting  was. 
Brother  Anderson  studied  the  picture 
for  a  few  minutes  and  then  asked, 
"Do  you  know  what  building  this  is 
in  which  this  picture  was  taken?" 
The  gentlemen  answered,  "No,"  then 
they  continued  by  stating  that  the 
picture  had  probably  been  sent  to 
them  by  their  American  offices. 
Brother  Anderson  then  said,  "That  is 
a  picture  of  the  inside  of  one  of  the 
Mormon  temples — the  Kirtland  Tem- 
ple— dedicated  in  March  1836." 

Brother  Anderson  was  deeply 
moved  by  this  experience.  It  bore 
testimony  to  the  inspiration  of  the 
early  leaders  of  the  Church.  The 
picture  showed  a  detailed  view  of  the 
pulpits,  the  seating  arrangements,  and 
the  lighting,  with  which,  of  course, 
these  gentlemen  were  most  concerned. 

Not  all  of  the  faith-promoting 
stories  from  the  peoples  in  the  mis- 
sions have  come  to  light.  But  one, 
from  an  eighty-year-old  member  of 
the  Church  in  Switzerland,  is  deeply 
stirring.  This  poignant  story  was 
sent  to  the  First  Presidency  by  Presi- 
dent Bringhurst,  in  a  letter  dated 
April  18,  1953: 

"Sister  Therese  Leuscher  gives  for 
the  building  of  the  temple  in  Switzer- 
land Fr.  100  to  help  with  its  cost,  and 

(Continued  on  following  page) 
SEPTEMBER  1955 


Higher  Skills 

Mean 
Better  Jobs 

Our  graduates  usual- 
ly have  several  ex- 
cellent positions  from 
which  to  choose. 

Autumn   Quarter 
Starts  Sept.   6 


Barbara    Latimer,    Janet    Sprouse,    Nathan    R.    Larsen 
Rear :  Florence  P.  Evans,  instructor 
These  three  students  recently  won  Gregg  awards  for  passing 
the  official    160-word    test.     Their   goal    now   is   175    words   a 
minute.    (Miss    Latimer   typed    127    words    a   minute    for   five 
minutes  without   error!) 


BUSINESS  COLLEGE 


'i""mm>»»»mm 


HIIIIIIW 


S£FRD£EF0R     / 

BRANCH   OF   BRIGHAM   YOUNG    UNIVERSITY    f        F°^^t'On| 
70   North    Main    -   3-2765    -    Salt   Lake   City'"? 


5    I 


""//, 


Hit, 


Send  me  a  kit  of  information  about  Autumn  Classes  and  include  "Get  Your  Toe 
In  The   Door"  by  J.  P.  McEvoy. 

Name    


>%^11'1'' 


««»' 


Address   _ City. 


State 


GOLDEN  CHIPS  OF  CORN 


FRITOS  is 
the  regis- 
tered trade 
mark  of 
The    Frito 


AT  YOUR  FAVORITE  FOOD  OR  GROCERY  STORE 


Here's  another  way  to 


'Kill 


&<i 


® 


by  GREYHOUND 

Extra  Low  IJjHJ 

FAMULY  JAM* 


Check  Greyhound  for  full  details 
about  special  money-saving  plans 


GREYHOUND 


A   strongly   spiritual,   faith-pro- 
moting book. 


"I 


In  The 
Gospel  Net" 

By  Dr.  John  A.  Widtsoe 

At  all  bookstores  $1.75 


*■':■■■■«■■»■'■'-* 


IN  USE  for  SEVENTY-FIVE  YEARS 

Aids  in  treatment  of  Canker,  simple 
sore  throat  and  other  minor  mouth 
and  throat  irritations. 

HALLS  REMEDY 

Salt  Lake  City.  Utah 

685 


KITCHEI1  CHflRm 

WAXED  PAPER 

KEEPS  FOOD 

FRESHER  LONGER! 


•    POPULAR     WITH    MILLIONS 
Of    HOUSEWIVES.,. 

AT  ALL  LEADING   GROCERS 


IT'S  EASY  TO  COOK 

WITH  AN 

ELECTRIC  RANGE 


ELECTRIC 
COOKING 

costs  the 
average  family 
only  about   f 
9#  a  day 


Be  Modern 
live  Electrically 

UTAH  POWER  &  LIGHT  CO. 


A  TEMPLE  IS  RISEN  TO  OUR  LORD 


(Continued  from  preceding  page) 
Tt  is  my  wish  that  the  Almighty  God 
may  accept  the  temple  just  as  sacred 
as  He  did  the  Kirtland  Temple,  al- 
though I  will  not  live  when  this  holy 
building  will  be  dedicated.'  "  Presi- 
dent Bringhurst  related  that  this 
woman  was  a  widow  and  had  taken 
a  long  time  to  collect  the  money  be- 
cause she  was  poor.  The  money  that 
had  been  entrusted  to  President 
Bringhurst  had  been  given  in  half 
franc  pieces,  truly  the  widow's  mite! 

To  Sister  Belle  S.  Spafford  and  the 
author  it  was  most  soul -satisfying  to 
hear  the  Saints  from  Helsinki,  Fin- 
land, and  the  Scandinavian  countries 
as  well  as  from  Holland,  Germany, 
and  Switzerland,  tell  of  their  great 
hope  in  being  enabled  to  go  to  the 
temple  of  the  Lord  and  there  receive 
their  endowments  for  themselves  and 
be  permitted  to  do  temple  work  for 
their  kindred  dead.  One  woman, 
over  eighty,  living  in  Denmark,  was 
saving  her  little  bits  of  money  that 
she  might  go  through  the  temple.  She 
said  that  if  she  didn't  live  to  go 
through,  she  would  give  the  money  to 
someone  else  who  could  travel  to  the 
Swiss  Temple.  This  is  indicative  of 
the  feeling  of  the  Saints  in  Europe 
who  wish  to  bring  their  families  to 
complete  ordinances  which  will  bind 
man  to  wife,  children  to  parents 
through  all  the  eternities  to  come — 
and  to  bind  the  present  to  the  past 
as  well  as  to  the  future.  This  bind- 
ing of  one  generation  to  another  un- 
der the  Holy  Priesthood  assures  the 
endurance  of  the  family  throughout 
eternity. 

At  the  time  of  the  preparation  for 
the  purchase  of  the  building  lot  for 
the  erection  of  the  temple  in  Switzer- 
land, the  First  Presidency  sent  letters 
to  all  mission  presidents  in  Britain, 
Denmark,  East  Germany,  Finland, 
the  Netherlands,  Norway,  Sweden, 
the  Swiss-Austrian,  and  the  West 
Germany.  The  rejoicing  of  the  Saints 
can  well  be  imagined.  Many  of 
them  cannot  make  a  trip  to  the 
United  States,  Canada,  or  Hawaii 
for  their  endowments;  many  of  them 
are  poor,  having  barely  enough  on 
which  to  subsist;  many  of  them  are 
barely  recovering  from  the  effects  of 
devastating  war;  others  are  too  old 
to  understake  the  journey  to  a  new 
land  and  try  to  find  employment  in 
a  country  whose  language  they  do 
not  know. 


686 


Bringing  the  temple  to  the  Euro- 
pean Saints  was  foreseen  as  early  as 
August  1906  when  President  Joseph 
F.  Smith  predicted  that  "the  time 
would  come  when  temples  to  the 
Most  High  would  be  built  in  various 
countries  of  the  world."  At  the  time, 
he  was  in  Zurich,  Switzerland,  and 
his  prophecy  was  printed  in  the  mis- 
sion publication,  Der  Stern.  The 
Swiss  Mission  was  organized  under 
the  direction  of  Elder  Lorenzo  Snow, 
then  European  Mission  president,  in 
1850.  He  sent  Elder  Thomas  B.  H. 
Stenhouse  into  Switzerland  from 
Italy,  where  he  and  President  Snow 
were  traveling.  President  Snow's  in- 
structions were  for  Elder  Stenhouse 
to  dedicate  the  land  of  Switzerland 
for  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  to  the 
Swiss  people.  This  great  country  has 
afforded  an  especially  productive  field 
of  labor,  and  missionaires  who  have 
labored  in  Switzerland  are  particu- 
larly well  pleased  that  those  faithful 
converts  who  have  been  unable  to 
come  to  the  United  States  will  now 
be  privileged  and  blessed  with  mar- 
riage for  eternity.  Missionaries  to  the 
other  European  countries  also  rejoice 
in  the  opportunities  awarded  the 
faithful  members. 

Almost  as  soon  as  work  on  the 
temple  began,  visitors  from  all  over 
Europe  began  to  travel  to  the  site.  A 
woman,  not  a  member  of  the  Church, 
became  interested  and  set  her  little 
stand  at  one  corner,  just  outside  the 
temple  lot,  a  sort  of  Bureau  of  In- 
formation. She  obtained  and  dis- 
tributed tracts.  Now,  however,  the 
official  Bureau  of  Information  is  in- 
corporated into  the  Bern  branch 
chapel.  President  William  F.  Per- 
schon  of  the  Swiss-Austrian  Mission 
reported  that  during  the  months  of 
March  and  April,  5648  visitors  came 
to  the  temple  grounds.  Following 
this  there  were  3063  conversations  at 
which  3061  copies  of  Joseph  Smith's 
Story  were  accepted  by  the  visitors. 
In  addition  over  one  thousand  visitors 
to  the  temple  grounds  were  noted, 
these  latter  not  visiting  the  temple 
itself. 

To  facilitate  the  understanding  of 
the  visitors,  a  display  of  temples  has 
been  prepared  by  the  Swiss  mission- 
aries. This  display  gives  the  visitors 
a  good  idea  of  the  international  na- 
ture of  the  Church.  The  change  in 
attitude  throughout  Switzerland  has 
been  gratefully  noted,  since  now  the 
THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


citizens  of  that  country  recognize  that 
this  is  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of 
Latter-day  Saints,  and  not  merely  a 
sect. 

It  is  altogether  fitting  and  a  reward 
for  work  well  done  that  Samuel  E. 
Bringhurst,  whose  efforts  to  obtain 
the  land  for  the  ground  and  to  make 
initial  contacts  that  resulted  in  this 
temple,  should  be  honored  to  serve  as 
the  first  president  of  the  Swiss  Tem- 
ple. 

President  and  Sister  Bringhurst 
will  leave  for  Bern,  Switzerland,  Au- 
gust 15,  1955,  Elder  Bringhurst  hav- 
ing been  set  apart  for  his  new  posi- 
tion July  30,  by  President  David  O. 
McKay.  Elder  Bringhurst  will  as- 
sume the  responsibility  of  completing 
the  arrangements  for  the  dedication 
of  the  temple,  beginning  September 
11,   1955. 

Elder  Bringhurst  is  no  stranger  to 
the  country  or  the  people  among 
whom  he  will  officiate.  He  served  his 
first  mission  in  what  was  then  the 
Swiss-German  Mission  from  1909  to 
1912.  He  returned  as  mission  presi- 
dent to  the  Swiss-Austrian  Mission  in 
1948,  serving  until  1953.  His  Church 
experience  has  been  enviable:  He 
served  as  bishop  of  the  Murray  First 
Ward  from  1928  to  1938;  then  as 
president  of  the  Cottonwood  Stake 
from  1938  to  1942.  In  1944  Elder 
Bringhurst  was  called  as  president 
of  the  Northwestern  States  Mission; 
later  he  was  called  as  president  of 
the  Swiss -Austrian  Mission. 

T^he  beauty  of  the  Swiss  Temple  is 
-  not  difficult  to  imagine.  The  top 
of  the  tower  is  of  a  gold  color;  the 
base  of  the  tower  is  white.  The  verti- 
cal side  pillars  and  those  down  the 
front  and  sides  of  the  tower  are  also 
white.  The  rest  of  the  building  is 
a  creamish-gray  color.  The  canopy 
over  the  temple  door  is  white.  Stand- 
ing against  the  vivid  green  of  the 
Swiss  countryside  and  against  the  in- 
tense blue  of  the  Alps  and  the  Jurals, 
and  a  vivid  sky,  the  Swiss  Temple 
will  impel  man's  thoughts  to  turn  to 
God,  the  Eternal  Father. 

The  Los  Angeles  Temple  will  be 
the  next  temple  dedicated;  two  others 
are  being  planned:  one  in  Great 
Britain    and    one    in    New    Zealand. 

With  the  establishment  of  temples 
in  strategic  places  throughout  the 
world,  others,  not  of  our  Church, 
will  see  our  good  works  and  be  led 
to  honor  our  Father  which  is  in 
heaven. 
SEPTEMBER  1955 


Get  the  energy  you  need 
from  0k 

TABLE  QUEEN 
Bread 


Because  Table  Queen  Enriched  White 
Bread  is  readily  digestible,  its  caloric 
values  become  quickly  available  for  energy 
purposes.  That's  v.hy  Table  Queen  bread 
is  the  ideal  energy  food  for  all  kinds  of  diets 
.  .  .  and  particularly  for  reducing  diets. 

At  ihe  same  time  it  provides  essential 
and  very  important  nutritional 
contributions  to  morning,  noon  and 
nighttime  meals.  Combining  the  proteins 
of  wheat  flour  and  non-fat  milk  solids, 
Table  Queen  Enriched  Bread  is  high 
in  protein  content,  and  an  excellent 
source  of  vitamins  and  minerals 
you  need  every  day. 


Growing  children  and  ALL  adults  need 
the  energy  Table  Queen  provides. 


enriched  with  vitamins  and  iron 


For  Missionaries: 

Two  popular  priced  books:  THE  A.B.C. 
OF  MORMON  ISM  and  THE  MORMON 
MISSIONARY'S  MESSAGE  —  written 
especially  for  the  busy  missionary  as 
aids  to  his  work;  pocket  size  for  greater 
convenience  in  handling.  By  Aubrey  J. 
Parker  (One  time  Methodist  Minister). 
Beautifully  bound  in  green  and  gold 
cloth,  hard  back;  printed  on  good  paper; 
will  give  a  life-time  of  service.  Sent  to 
you  anywhere  in  the  world  for  ONE 
DOLLAR  EACH. 

Address: 

ELDER  AUBREY  J.    PARKER 

616  West  Carrillo 
Santa  Barbara,  California 


BIND  YOUR  EMS 

for  your  home  library.     Attrac- 

tive, red  fabricoid  binder  with 

THE    IMPROVEMENT    ERA 

stamped  in   gold  on  front   and 

spine. 

$1.75 

at  The  Improvement  Era 

50  North  Main 

Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 

vk*     /y/ 

(   mi  r 

w 


Your 

Future 

is  our 

Concern 

Why  worry 

about  it?— 

Let  us 

prepare  you. 


Our  educational  and  religious 
facilities  are  among  the  best  in 
the  nation.  Training  is  offered  in 
eight  basic  schools  in  preparing 
for  a  successful  career. 

We  train  our  students  to  make  a 
living  and  a  worthy  life. 

Registration:  Fall  Quarter— 
SEPTEMBER   23-24,    1955 

Write  for  catalog  and 
information. 

UTAH  STATE 

AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE 

LOGAN,  UTAH 


687 


PERFECT  ATTENDANCE  A  HABIT 


Charol  Annette  Mueller  has  re- 
cently  completed  her  sixth  year 
of  perfect  attendance  at  all  Church 
meetings  since  she  became  twelve 
years  of  age.  Perfect  attendance  is 
a  habit  with  her  and  she  hasn't 
missed  a  meeting  that  she  was  sup- 
posed attend  in  nearly  fourteen 
years.  She  is  a  recent  graduate  of 
the  Tooele  Seminary,  and  took  part 
in  the  Junior  Gleaner  department 
at  the  MIA  conference  last  June. 
She  teaches  a  Junior  Sunday  School 
class  and  is  a  chorister.  Sharol  is 
the  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Oran 
G.  Mueller  of  Tooele,  Utah. 


Sharol  A.  Mueller 


OUTSTANDING  RECORD 


I^rancene  Peterson  has  achieved 
*  a  five  year  one  hundred  percent 
attendance  record  for  Mutual,  Sun- 
day School,  and  sacrament  meeting. 
She  was  an  Honor  Bee,  a  two  year 
Mia  Joy,  and  is  now  waiting  for 
her  eighteenth  birthday  so  that  she 
may  apply  for  her  Silver  Gleaner 
award.  She  is  an  assistant  chorister 
and  a  teacher  in  the  Owyhee  Ward 
Junior  Sunday  School.  Her  par- 
ents are  Bishop  and  Mrs.  James  A. 
Peterson.  Owyhee  Ward,  Nyssa 
(Oregon)  Stake  gained  the  "Hall  of 
Fame"  this  year  with  ninety  per- 
cent of  their  homes  subscribing  to 
The    Improvement   Era. 


We  have  just  learned  that  the  August  frontispiece  is  the 
work  of  D.  Elmer  Johnson  of  American  Fork,  Utah. 
The  photograph  had  been  in  our  files  for  years,  and  the 
photographer's  identification  had  been  lost.  Photographer 
Johnson  wrote  identifying  himself,  stating  that  the  picture 
was  taken  in  front  of  the  LDS  chapel  at  Keei,  Hawaii. 


Francene  Peterson 


wisdom  and   knowledge  I  thank  my  Heavenly  Father  for  such  a 
wonderful  magazine.     To  me  there  could  be  no  finer  magazine. 
May  the  Lord  bless  you  in  this  work  always. 

Sincerely, 
(Signed)  Mrs.  Howard  Loveland 

Los  Angeles,  California 
Dear  Brethren: 

We  enjoy  The  Era  very  much  and  I  read  it  from  cover  to  cover. 
I  especially  enjoy  the  poems,  the  editorial  by  President  McKay, 
and  the  articles  by  Dr.  Hugh  Nibley.  They  have  been  so  informa- 
tive, and  I  know  the  research  behind  them  must  have  represented 
a  tremendous  lot  of  work  that  few  people  are  capable  of  doing. 
May  God  bless  you  in  the  wonderful  work  you  are  doing  in  pub- 
lishing such  an  outstanding  magazine. 

Sincerely, 
(Signed)  Mrs.  Rose  H.  Behrman 

Guam 
Dear  Sirs: 

A  long  with  my  change  of  address  I  would  like  to  take  this  op- 
portunity  to  thank  you  and  those  who  have  made  it  possible  for 
me  to  receive  The  Improvement  Era,  for  it  is  a  wonderful  maga- 
zine, written  and  edited  by  wonderful  people. 

To  me  being  in  the  service  and  away  from  home,  the  Era  has 
a  special  meaning,  for  it  can  bring  home  close  to  you  a  means 
whereby  one  can  keep  up  with  the  growth  and  development  of 
the  Church,  as  well  as  the  Church  doctrines.  The  Era  is  one 
of  the  greatest  spiritual  aids  the  serviceman  has. 
May  God  bless  you  all. 

Sincerely, 
(Signed)   Albert  W.  Jones 


Dear  Editors: 


Long  Beach,  California 


T  would  like  to  tell  you  just  how  much  The  Improvement  Era 

has  meant  to  me.     I  have  saved  every  copy  I  could  and  take 

them  out  often  and  read  through  them  and  how  wonderful  they 

are,  and  as  I  look  through  the  pages  filled  with  such  words  of 


Tn  the  article  "Alberta  Marks  Her  Golden  Years,"  on  page  591 
of  the  August  Era  we  reported  that  the  president  of  the  Al- 
berta Temple  was  Edward  L.  Smith.     President  Smith's  name  is 
Willard  L.  Smith  .  .  .  and  we  apologize! 


"PUPU  HIMENE"  FROM 
THE   TAHITIAN   MISSION 

'From  Papeete,  Tahiti,  comes 
this  picture  of  their 
branch  youth  chorus,  or  as 
their  banner  says  "Pupu 
Himene"  (singing  group), 
made  up  of  branch  members 
and  investigators.  Incidental- 
ly the  S.  D.  J.  stands  for 
Saints  des  Derniers  Jours, 
which  is  the  French  way  of 
saying  Latter-day  Saints.  The 
group  has  been  singing  to- 
gether since  April  and  is 
planning  a  tour  of  the  is- 
lands of  Raiatea,  Tahaa,  and 
Bora-Bora. 


688 


THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA 


His  tie  on  your  hat.. .a 
"Fashion  Color  Recipe"  for  your  broad  brims. 
Simply  sfitch  at  crown  and  brim  edges. 


■^ 
« 


April  Yellow 


Balletlfmk 


Soft  White 


V 


Foam  Keen 


/ 


4  ROUS 

FAMIiy-PAK 


the  economy  tissue  with  the  softness 
to  match  its  soft  lovely  colors! 

Color  in  your  home  is  just  as  important 

as  color  in  your  dress.  And  ZEE  colors 
are  so  right  for  your  bathroom  ...soft,  soft  as 
this  fine  quality,  economy  tissue  itself! 

C£  Crown  Zellerbach  Corporation 


TYPICAL  SCENE  AT  HARVEST  TIME,  CIRCA  1905 


w^#w^ . . . 


Like  most  other  trades  and  professions,  farming  has  changed  vastly 
during  the  past  fifty  Beneficial  years.  The  powerful  team  straining  at  the 
harness  is  becoming  a  rare  sight.  Today's  farm  is  mechanized,  and  the 
farmer  well-trained  in  the  latest  scientific  farming  and  marketing  practices. 

With  all  this  progress,  there's  one  farm  scene  that,  fortunately,  never 
seems  to  change:  whether  in  1905  or  1955,  it's  always  a  comforting  sight 
to  see  the  sheaves  of  harvested  grain,  glistening  gold  in  the  late  summer 
sun  .  .  .  insurance  against  want  through  the  harvestless  months  ahead. 

Beneficial  Life  Insurance  provides  a  closely  related  feeling  of  well- 
being  .  .  .  with  the  knowledge  that  you  have  provided  well  for  your  own 
and  your  family's  future.    Consult  your  friendly  Beneficial  agent   soon. 

BENEFICIAL  LIFE 


'ndutimce 


David  O.  McKay,  Pres 


ompanu 

Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 


Our  General  Agents 


Richard  A.  Miner,  with 
seven  agents,  serves 
San  Bernardino  and 
Riverside  counties  in 
California,  with  agents 
in  San  Bernardino, 
Riverside  and  Barstow. 
The  main  office  is  in 
San   Bernardino. 


D.  Keith  Barber,  with 
six  agents  located  in 
Pasco,  Richland,  Moses 
Lake,  Sunnyside,  Ken- 
newick  and  Pendleton, 
heads  the  Beneficial 
agency  serving  South 
Central  Washington 
and  Umatilla  County 
in    Oregon.